The Renegade
by 956kitty
Summary: What if Logan had a daughter from the very start? What would happen? What kind of powers would she have? What would she be like?
1. Mutants

I was 13 years old when my family was broken. My mom, dad, and I had a house out in the mountains. It might have been small but it was enough. As long as we had each other, food, and shelter then everything would be ok. Both my parents were mutants.

My mom was Kayla Silverfox and my dad was Logan Howlett. My mom could make a person do anything if she had physical contact with them. My dad had bone claws that came out of his knuckles. He also had healing powers.

Everyone says I look like my dad and I even got a few of my powers from him. I had some of his running speed and part of his strength. Another one of my powers was that my eyes could change color with my emotion. It was weird yet really cool.

One morning, everything changed. I woke up early and saw my dad getting ready for work and my mom was gonna drop him off like usual. Sometimes I go with and sometimes I don't. It sorta depends on if I get up early or not. Since I did this morning, I get to come along.

It was a long drive, maybe about a half hour or so. The whole time, my dad was poking me, making me laugh and wiggle around. I was in the middle of my mom and dad in the truck. I like sitting in the bed of the truck but they both said it was too dangerous when we're driving for a good while.

When we got there, there were already many of my dad's friends and co workers. My dad got out of the car but before he did, he leaned over and kissed me on the head. "Be good for your mom. Have fun. Love ya, Kid."

"Love ya too, Daddy!"

He smiles and gets out. He starts walking over to his buddies but my mom stops him. "Hey."

He smiles and stalks over back to my mom. They kiss and everyone starts making fun of them. I join in but I make a sicky face, pretending to throw up. As they pull away, my dad hits my window, right where my face was. Since I wasn't expecting that, I jump back a little. That makes my dad laugh as he jumps in the back of the truck with his co workers.

He gives us both a happy smile as they drive away. He turns his attention back to his friends and starts shoving them around, laughing. The rest of the day, my mom and I were baking lots of different things. We were making some brownies when my mom said she had to go pick up dad.

After she left, I had to keep an eye out for the brownies. When they returned, I waited behind the door for my dad. When he walked in the door, I jumped on his back. It was like a routine. My dad laughed and quickly threw me over his shoulder and plopped me onto the couch.

We had a nice dinner that night but when it was time to go to bed, I felt like something was wrong. When I walked to my parent's room, I saw my mom was standing in the doorway with a scratch on her hand. I look in and saw my dad having a nightmare. Before I could do anything else, he jumped up from bed, yelling with his claws out, like he was getting ready to attack someone.

When he realized where he was, he calmed down. He looked at my mom but when he saw me, his face showed regret. I quickly ran out of the room, jumped in my bed, and hid under the covers. I knew I was 13 and all but I still felt a little safe when I was in my room, under the covers, where I couldn't see anything.

After a few minutes, I heard footsteps coming in my room. I felt one side of the bed sink down and I heard the person sigh. They gently pulled back the covers and I was met with the brown eyes of my father. He looked sorry and pulled me into his arms. "I wish you didn't have to see that. I know that was scary."

All I did was nod my head. I knew my father felt bad. When I was little I saw him get upset about something and pulled out his claws and destroyed something. When he saw me in the room, he promised me that I wouldn't have to see anything like that again. I knew I would see it again one day. Just not like that.

When I calmed down, he tucked me in my bed. He kissed me goodnight and left the room. I didn't want to go to school tomorrow but I knew I did. It was always better when I was at home with my parents. I always thought we were like a perfect little family.

The school day went slow but when the final bell rang, I ran outside. Dad was supposed to pick mom and me up today. He took the car this time. When I got outside, I saw my mom being surrounded by little kids. I looked for my dad and saw him staring at a little boy being picked up by his father.

I knew about his past. He told me stories about it all. About all the wars he fought in, about his experiences, and even how he got his mutant powers. It was all very interesting to me. I can't explain why but it always felt like he was telling me these stories because he felt like it was something he could only tell to very few people.

I ran up to him and threw my bag in the bed of the truck. I hopped in next to my dad as we waited for my mom. "Hi Daddy!"

"Hey, Kid. How was your day?"

"Boring. As usual."

It looked like he was gonna ask me something when my mom came up. She sat next to me and looked at my dad. It was usual, it was either my mom or my dad driving and I was always in the middle. It just kinda fit. Half way home, my mom could tell something was off with my dad. "What's wrong?"

"…Stryker came by today." He turned to us and saw our scared expressions. "Don't worry you two. I said no."

"Why is he bothering you after all these years? Doesn't he know you have a wife and daughter now?"

My dad hesitated before answering. "That's the thing that worries me. He does know. He knows what your job is; he knows where we live, and how old Scout is. And I'm the best there is at what I do. What I do best isn't very nice."

"You're not an animal, Logan. What you have is a gift."

"A gift? You can return a gift." My father mocked.

I stayed quiet, not knowing what to say during this conversation. My mom did make my dad smile a bit after she said, "It is a gift! Think about it. You can protect you family. Your daughter."

When we came up on the hill, there were a few guys blocking the road. My dad stopped and laid on the horn. All he got back was someone flipping the bird. He started getting out of the car but my mom begged my dad, "Stay in the car."

He looked at me instead when he answered and I saw a twinkle in his eye. "I'm just gonna go ask nicely."

I tried my best not to laugh, knowing that look. After he got out and shut the door, my mom put a hand on her face, shaking her head, knowing too. I tried to lighten up the mood by saying, "You gotta admit, he has a good sense of humor."

That got both of us laughing a little. We quieted down when we heard my dad yelling out, "Mind letting us go by?"

One of the bigger guys started walking toward my dad, "You in some kind of hurry there pal? Are ya?"

"Just move your truck so we can go by."

"Trying to have a conversation there, right!" he shoved my dad and we immediately got out of the car. "If you start something, you'd better be ready to finish it." He went to punch my dad in the face but he caught his fist.

We ran over to the two and I went to grab a hold of my dad's arm as my mom cautioned, "Hey guys, take it easy. Calm down."

I saw my dad's claws starting to come out but he was trying to hold them back. I tried holding him back when I saw my mom's hand on the man's shoulder. He ripped his arm away from my dad and said, "Your friend has a big mouth."

"I know. Big temper too. So please let us pass." The man went to go move his truck as my mom thanked him.

My dad was still breathing heavy as we all walked back to the car. "How'd you do that?" he opened the car door for me and then got in.

My mom got in too and answered, "You know power of persuasion is a gift."

"I see…Do you, uh, have those powers over me?"

"You didn't stay in the car, did you?"

My dad just started laughing. The night just went on and I went to bed early. I knew my parents wanted some time alone. The next morning almost went like the way every morning went. We went to go drop off dad at his work and we headed back to the house. About half way there, there was a man in the middle of the road.

It looked just like how my dad described his brother, my Uncle Victor. We stopped a few yards away from him as he stared us down. He started walking toward us and my mom did nothing. She just sat there staring at him as he was right in front of the car. I was shaking like a leaf but tried not to show it. If my dad taught my anything it was _'Never let your opponents know that you're scared. Show them how tough you are. How brave you are.'_

I knew it was my Uncle Victor when his nails came out and ripped through the hood of the car. He ripped open the door and threw my mom out of it. I screamed as I jumped out of the car. It looked like he was killing her and when she stopped moving completely, covered in blood, he turned to me.

I knew I didn't have much of a defensive mutant power but I still had some of my dad in me. Victor stalked over to me and said, menacingly, "So, your daddy's little girl. My niece…Scout, isn't it? Let's see how much of your father you have in ya."

He charged after me as I ran for my life. I was jumping and dodging trees like nobody's business. I knew he was catching up to me fast but I thought I could still make it. Off in the distance I heard my father's voice. "Kayla!? Scout?!"

I kept running but this time, in his direction. I knew if I made it a few more minutes, he would save me. I let him know I was still alive. "Daddy!"

The last thing I remember was Victor jumping on me, and it felt like he was ripping through my body with his claws. The final thing I heard was my dad calling out for me, sounding desperate.


	2. Broken but Repaired

When I woke up next, I was shocked. I thought I was dead but I wasn't. I was in a cell, tied up. There was a boy next to me that had a cloth over his eyes. My vision was a little blurry for a few moments until I could see everything clearly. The boy was in a cell right across from me.

"Who are you? Where am I?" my voice quavered.

"My name's Scott. Scott Summers. You're at The Island of Alkali Lake. What's your name?"

"My name's Scout. Scout Howlett."

The boy smiled a little and said, "Cute name. What do you look like?"

I look at him confused and ask, "Why do you wanna know what I look like?"

Scott sighs but answers anyway. "Because…I wanna see if your voice matches your appearance. I can't see as you can tell and I would like to know what my new friend looks like. We can be friends, right?"

"Definitely. Well I have brown hair, dark brown eyes, I'm kinda short, I'm a tomboy, I hate girly things at all costs, and everyone says I look like my dad."

Before our talk can be continued, my mother walks in with the man Stryker. He opens my door and lets her in. All he says is, "You get a few minutes." And he left.

The first things that came to mind came spilling out of my mouth. "Mom, what's happening? Where's daddy? Why am I chained up? What's going to happen to us?"

All these things were being asked but my mom shushed me. "Scout, listen to me. We are here because it was the only way to save my sister. I would've left you with your dad but I knew it wouldn't be safe. I took you with me so you wouldn't get hurt. Your father is on his own, now. It is most likely we will never see him again. I'm sorry, sweetheart. I tried to get them to unchain you but they say they need to experiment on you. See what powers you have."

As she was explaining this all to me, I was crying. Not because I was scared but because I wouldn't see my dad again. I felt safe with him but now that I was taken away from him, I felt vulnerable. I felt broken.

We were there for months. I lost track of how many but over that period of time, Scott and I grew close. I had a lot of experiments done on me. I recently had one done and it felt like I was gonna die. They threw me back in my cell and tied me up.

My hands were chained above my head as my feet were dangling a few inches off the ground. I was still weak so I kept my eyes closed and the loudest I could talk was a little over a whisper. I wanted to sleep but since Scott thought I might have a concussion, he kept me awake. Even if we were in different cells, he kept talking to me, asking a question every now and then to make sure I was still awake and responding correctly.

He was telling me some stories of when he was a little boy, some were funny and some were sad. We were talking when we heard yelling. Everyone stopped what they were doing in their own little cell and listened. There was a lot of screaming and banging. It kept getting closer to us.

All of a sudden the door busted open. I couldn't move since I was tied up so I quickly whisper over to my friend. "Scott, who is it?"

He looks over at me and whispers back, shocked, "It's the Wolverine!"

My eyes go wide and I hear the sound of claws. It sounded like he was running down the aisle, breaking everybody out of their cell. I was at the end and when he got to the end, I kept my head down, wondering what he would do.

I heard him breathing heavy and I thought I heard my mom with him. I hear cell my door being ripped open and it banged against the wall. I keep my head down and I see a pair of feet slowly making their way towards me. They stop right in my line of sight and that was when I shut my eyes, tight.

I hear him yell, breaking my chains and catching me before I hit the floor. He slowly lowered me to the ground and let me sink to my knees, as did he. I slowly look up and I'm met with the pair of brown eyes that has protected me my whole life. My dad quickly wraps me in a hug and starts rocking me back and forth.

He starts to whisper in my ear. "Scout. Thank god you're alright. I thought I lost you."

I wanted to cry as he hugged me tighter, securely in his arms. I open my eyes and see my mom makes her way toward us. She joins the two of us and soon, I'm in the middle of my mom and dad as both their arms wrap around my body, protectively.

We stand up and all the mutants are in a group. My parents stare at each other when my mom realizes my dad is offering his hand to her, with his other arm around me. She takes a hold of his hand and he starts to lead us to the way out.

The doors open and a man walks in. I could only see the outline of him though. My dad started to get ready to fight him. "Ok. Kayla, I need you to get these kids out of here. Find another way out."

My mom starts to follow his orders when he suddenly pulls her back. I don't think he meant for others to hear but I heard him whisper to my mom, "If anything happens to me, promise you'll do everything in your power to protect Scout."

I see my mom nod her head as she ushers everyone out. I stay in my spot and stare at my father. "Scout, go with your mother. Whatever you do, stay safe and stay strong."

I whisper an ok, knowing he heard me. I followed everyone and grabbed the arm of Scott. I knew he didn't know it was me but I felt one of his hands run through my hair and I heard him ask, "Scout? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Don't worry. We'll get out of here. Together."

He nods his head and we both follow my mom. We head for the opposite direction and when we were about to cross a large room, there were people above us, shooting. We all went back and hid behind the wall. We were trying to figure out a way to get out of this.

That was when I heard Scott speak up. "I can help. Let me at 'em."

He went out in the open with my Aunt and he removed the cloth over his eyes. Red lasers came out from his eyes and destroyed everything. He quickly put it back over his face and asked, "Did I get 'em?"

"Yeah." My Aunt turned to everyone and ordered, "Let's go."

"I can't go." I quickly turned to my mom, shocked.

"Kayla, come on!"

"I have to stay here. You take them. Go." I don't move at all and stare at my mother. She sees me and yells, "GO!"

I follow what she told me and follow everyone else. We run down a hall and hit a dead end. We didn't know which way to go but Scott somehow knew. He told us all to go left. We kept going until we saw a light. We ran faster toward it and we came outside.

We saw a chopper there and a man stepped out. I think we all heard him in our heads when he said, _"It'll be alright, everyone. My name is Charles Xavier. I'm a mutant like all of you."_ Then he said out loud, "You're safe now. Come. We must go."

Professor Xavier had us all by the chopper, waiting for the others. I was getting worried for my mom and dad when I didn't see them in the chopper. I didn't say anything to anybody and just walked out. I started looking around the island for a few minutes until I heard sirens. Police sirens.

I ran in the opposite direction so that I was away from everything, hoping I could find my parents. I was walking when I saw someone walking by themselves, getting ready to leave. I saw my dad alone but I didn't see my mom. I started running to my dad as I called out to him.

He slowly turned around and I leaped into his arms, thankful he was ok. When I threw my arms around him, I felt him jerk, like a shock of electricity went through him. I pulled away and he looked like he had a shocked expression on his face like he remembered something.

He was staring at the ground for a few minutes and then he looked up at me. It looked like he had tears in his eyes as he whispered in a hoarse voice, "Kid?" I didn't even get to say anything since he pulled me in for a hug so fast. He hugged me tightly, like he was afraid if he let go, then he would never see me again. Like I would disappear.

We both pulled away and I asked him, "Daddy, where's mom?"

He looks down for a minute until he kneels in front of me with his hands resting on my shoulders. He looks me straight in the eyes and says, "Scout…your mother…" it sounds like he tries to hold back a sob. "She's dead."

He looks at me, waiting for my response. I start shaking my head and slowly backing away from him. He quickly stands up and starts to walk toward me. I run backward, away from him, almost yelling, "No. No, you're lying! She's not dead! She can't be. She's waiting for us. I know it!"

I look all around the space where we were and look around for any sign of my mother. I didn't see anything. I felt tears running down my face as I sit on the ground and silently cry to myself. I didn't notice anybody in front of me until they spoke. "Scout?" I look up and see my father. It looks like he wants to cry but is trying to keep it together. He pulls out something out of his pocket and slowly placed a necklace around my neck. But it wasn't any necklace. It was my mother's silver heart locker. I look at my father as he explains, "Before she died, she asked me to give this to you."

"What am I gonna do now?" I wonder out loud. "Mom's gone. Where do I go?"

He looks a little offended as he responds, "You'll stay with me."

I shake my head a little. "You've changed. You're not like you used to be. You're more violent and…" I trail off not wanting to tell my father that he can scare me and is more dangerous.

He gives me a soft look and whispers, "Come on, I'll take care of you."

I think it over a little. He is really protective of me and he won't let me go. I'm his daughter; he won't let anything happen to me. Besides, we've been separated for months and we just got each other back. I couldn't leave him like that. He's all I have left. And I'm all he has left. I look at him with tears in my eyes and ask, "You promise?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I promise." He says it with so much sincerity in his voice.

"Ok. I'll stay with you. You gotta make sure you keep that promise though." I agreed in a whisper.

"I will. One thing you should know darlin' is that you can trust me. You know that. You've known me your whole life. I ain't gonna let nothing bad happen to ya. I'll always be there for ya." My dad reassures me with a small smile.

"That's what mom said." I feared as I looked away.

"Well, let me tell you something. I ain't your mother, now am I? No, I'm your father and I'll always be there for you whenever you need me. Always." I look at him as he added that one last word. "Besides, I'm the Wolverine. Nothing can kill me. I'm stronger than anyone and if anybody comes after you, they'll have to go through me first."

I smile back a little and look at my necklace. It brings new tears to my eyes 'cause I know that it will always remind me that my mother is dead. But it will also remind me that she will always be watching over me.

I look at my dad and he's waiting for my next action. I didn't really know what to do so I stared back at him. My dad wrapped his arms around me, protectively and tightly. I squeeze my eyes shut, keeping the tears in my eyes, not letting them flow.

We pull away and he wipes my tears away. We hear the sirens getting closer and my dad pulls me up to my feet. He gives me a small nod, signaling for me to follow him. I give him a small nod back, saying I'll always be by his side. He grabs my arm and we both start running. I knew that this was only the beginning of a new life. And it was gonna start with just my dad and I, first.


	3. Extra Chapter

I was holding tightly to my dad's waist, as he drove the motorcycle through the night wind. I saw some town lights up ahead, so I started to loosen my grip as we were slowing down. Dad stopped the bike and shut it off. We stayed on it for a moment, taking in our surroundings. He got off the bike and turned to face me. I stared at him through my helmet when he lifted his hands to get it off me. He untied the strap around my neck and gently lifted it off my head, putting it on one of the handlebars.

He stood in front of me as I got off the bike, him watching me, making sure I didn't fall. Once I stood next to my father, he nods his head approvingly just like always and throws his arm around my shoulder, walking in an old bar. We open the doors and stand there silently as everybody turns to glare at us. Dad's grip on my shoulders tighten as he starts to lead me to a seat at the counter.

When we were in the middle of the bar somebody shouted, "What the hell do ya think your doin?! No kids are allowed in this place!" Dad automatically turned around and I saw his claws starting to come out. I grab his arm and pull him towards the direction we were going. "Dad, calm down. It's alright, he can't hurt us. He's nothing to worry about. I can take care of him."

"I hate it when you're right."

I smirk as dad ordered my dinner and his beer and cigar. I got up from my seat and as he looked at me questioningly, I simply told him I needed some air. I walked out and leaned against the wall, breathing in the cold night's air. I felt someone near me so when I opened my eyes, I saw the man who yelled out in the bar. I glare at him as he stalks over to me, shoving me harder against the wall.

"Now why don't you run along before you get hurt, little girl. This is a dangerous place for children. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you, now do we?" I could smell the alcohol in his breath when he threatened me.

I felt my eyes turn red as the anger burned inside my body. But I remained calm and mocked him. "Sir, I suggest you step away from me before I have to hurt you. We wouldn't want anything to happen to _you_, now do we?"

He threw me on the ground and stood over me. "You little bitch! You the hell do you think you are?!"

I carefully stood back up and stared in his eyes and got my dangerous famous Howlett smirk on my face. "You wanna know who I am? I'm the Wolverine's daughter."

I still had my father's strength and speed. I ran over to him and flipped him over my shoulder, throwing him against the wall. He let out a yell but I didn't stop. I threw him on top of a car and watched him slid to the cold concrete. I pulled him and made sure he stood straight. The next move was the final one. I looked down at my feet, looking scared but got my smirk back on my face and then…I kneed him right where it hurts. "I think I can take care of myself, thanks."

I watched him fall to the floor, passed out as I walked back inside, sitting next to my father. I saw my food was already there and dad turned to me with raised eyebrows. I knew he probably heard everything with his high sensed hearing ability. I started eating acting as if nothing happened and he watched me. He gestured outside with his thumb. "Needed some air, huh? Sounded like you, uh, ha, like you wanted to take care of some business. Something you kept me from doing, saying he's not worth it."

"That was different. You were just going to kill 'em. I gave him a warning. He threatened me what else what I supposed to do? Besides, he pissed me off."

He chuckled as I shrugged my shoulders and kept eating. I couldn't help but smile when he put a hand on my back, letting me know he was proud. We listened to the music and went back to being serious. He was drinking his little shots of whiskey and I was eating. The door opened and a few minutes and two men came up to us. A tall one next to me and a shorter one next to dad.

They introduced themselves, the taller one then the smaller one. "Excuse me I'm Erik Lensher." "Charles Xavier."

"Go fuck yourself." Dad took another puff on his cigar.

The two men looked at each other before walking back out. Dad turned towards them and watched them walk away. He turned back to the counter and finished his small glass of whiskey before raising it, pointing to the bartender, asking for another one. I elbowed him in the arm, glaring at him. He looked at my expression and shook his head. "What?"

"You didn't have to be so rude. You could've been a bit nicer."

"I could've been. But I didn't. Besides, they were pissing me off."

I shook my head this time, hearing him quote me just minutes after I said them. I finished my food and he was finally done with his whiskey and cigars for tonight. We got up and walked outside to the bike. Dad got there first and handed me my helmet. I grabbed it, put it on my head and raised it so he could tie the strap. He looked at it and carefully tied it around my neck, being gentle as always.

He finished and hit the top of my helmet, telling me I'm good. He gets on first and then me. Dad starts up the motorcycle and I grab his waist tightly, knowing he loves to take off fast. "Hey, Dad? Where we goin next?"

"Where ever the road takes us, Kid."

We zoom off into the night, letting the wind guide us. I closed my eyes and let the feeling take over me like I did every time I got on this bike. We never knew where we were going as long as people don't know who we are and we don't end up in trouble. It's what dad said. _'Where ever the road takes us.'_ That was exactly what we did. We never looked at a map, asked for directions, all we did was follow the road and let it take us anywhere.


	4. Experiences

Dad and I were in a bar or boxing building, whatever you wanna call it. Two people were fighting but one of the men had been knocked out easily. The man, who had won, was leaning against the fence, talking to someone. The man who had won was my dad and the person he was talking to was me.

"Listen, don't take on anyone who you know will come back for us, got it?" I instruct to my father.

He rolled his eyes at me as another man stepped in the arena. "I know, Kid. Don't worry too much. I'll be fine."

Half the time he called me by my name, Scout or he called me Kid. It was just the way it was. We were still talking when the bell rang. Dad didn't move from his spot and soon, he was on his hands and knees when the man kicked him. My dad didn't do anything except just let the guy wail on him. I started yelling in the crowd, for my dad to get up and win.

I knew he would hear me because of his powers. He could hear my voice and my scent, even with hundreds of others all around us. He usually always zoned out so he could only hear me. That lets him know that everything is ok, as long as he can hear me.

Dad got up, pissed as all hell. He stood up, towering over the man. He knocked out the guy in only two punches. He kept cranking his neck as though it hurt. But that was a lie. My dad is never hurt because of his healing powers.

He came back over to me and lit a cigar. He crouched down so he could see my face. My dad gave me a smirk and chuckled. "Did you really think that someone was gonna beat me?"

Once everything had calmed down, he took me to a bar. He had a beer and a cigar while he ordered me some food. He seems to always look after me before himself.

We were having a silent moment with each other, relaxing, listening to the news on the radio. That was soon ruined by the man who had lost. He came up to us as dad turned to face him. "You owe me some money. No man takes a beating like that without a mark to show for it." Dad kept ignoring him, silently telling me to finish my food before we got kicked out. But the guy wouldn't let it go. "I know what you are."

Dad turned back around, with his back to the guy. "You lost your money. You keep this up, you'll lose something else."

The guy went to turn around but then quickly pulled out a knife. Before anyone could react, my dad had the guy pinned against the pillar with his three claws ready to slit his throat. I put a force field between them but I hear the sound of cocking a gun. We all stopped and I slowly turned around only to find the bartender had a gun to me and a knife to my dad.

I looked at my dad for help. All he did was split the gun in two and glared at the bartender. "It's not very polite to point guns at kids. Especially young girls."

He still had the knife to my dad and gestured for us to leave. "Get outta my bar, freak! And take that worthless kid with ya!"

My dad roughly grabbed my arm, dragged me out of the place and practically shoved my in the truck. I know he didn't mean it and he was pissed off but it still kinda hurt. We sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking back on what had happened.

I couldn't stop thinking what the bartender had said. _'Take that worthless kid with ya!' _Those words echoed in my mind as I played with my necklace. I felt a sting in my eyes from the tears. But all I did was hold them back. I turned my head away from my father so he wouldn't see my face.

I heard him sigh as he took a hold of my hand. "Scout?" I didn't answer. "Kid, look at me." I turn my head but only just. I could see him out of the corner of my eye and that was good enough. "Listen, don't you dare believe what that bastard said, alright? You know that's not true. You've got that necklace and me to prove that, okay?"

I nod my head and we drive a few more miles, out into the country, without another word. He opens the little cabinet next to him and pulls out a bag of jerky. I look at him questioningly as he tosses it on my lap. "You didn't get to finish your dinner. Thought you might still be a bit hungry."

"What about you? Aren't you a little hungry?

Before I can get an answer, a random tree falls in the middle of the road, almost on top of us. I was wearing my seatbelt but my dad wasn't. He went right through the windshield as my head banged on the desktop. I quickly look outside and see my dad, lying in the snow, unconscious. That changes when he gets up and I see his head start to heal.

I smelt smoke and when I turned around; I saw pat of the back of the truck on fire. I tried to get out but I found my legs were crushed and I couldn't move them from under the metal. I started calling out to my dad and I saw him trying to get to me as fast as he could.

He stops suddenly and I see him get his claws out. I turn to see the trunk of the tree and it was almost ripped to shreds. My eyes widen and knew there was someone did this on purpose. I knew I was right when a man came running out of the trees and attacked my dad. They both started fighting and all the while, I was trying to figure out a way to get out.

My dad landed on the hood of the car, in front of me, unconscious again. I looked back and saw the back of the truck, looking like it was ready to blow up. I started to yell from the pain and the fear. I stopped when the wind picked up and saw two people standing behind the guy who looked like a lion.

One was a girl with white hair whose eyes were glowing white and one was a guy who had red glasses over his eyes. The guy shot red lasers out of his eyes, at the cat man. I saw the fire getting higher and higher towards the roof. I almost started crying but then the door opened. I quickly turned and saw the man and the girl. The guy saw I was stuck and shot lasers at the metal until it broke. The girl helped me out of the truck and we started to run away. The guy grabbed my dad and as we made our way up a hill, the truck exploded. We all fell into the snow and that was when my whole world went black.

I woke up a few hours later and saw I was in a room. A strange room with different lights and weird decorating. I slowly got up and walked out of the room. I kept getting lost in all the different hallways and soon I just gave up. I thought I've been lost for about an hour or so, so I just sunk down and leaned against the wall.

I heard people approaching and when I looked up, I saw the man and woman who had saved us. They look at me, then the woman came up to me and kneeled in front of my face. "Are you ok? My name is Ororo Monroe but everyone calls me Storm. What's your name?"

"My name's Scout." I reply, quietly and timidly.

"My name's Scott Summers. I'm known as Cyclops." The man introduced. My eyes widen as I realize I met him before. He was the boy at the institute. He was the boy that helped me through almost everything I had to endure. I knew he probably wouldn't remember me so I keep quiet.

I nod my head as a hello. Storm asks me, "Are you lost? Are you looking for someone?"

I nod my head as I whisper, "My dad."

"Come with us. We're just about to go see him." Scott suggests.

They help me up as I follow them. We go down many different hallways until we're met with a big wooden door that they open. I hear a man introduce Storm and Scott but once I enter the room, I see my dad. I run to him and he picks me up in his arms. He holds me tightly as he asks if I'm ok. I nod my head and pull away when I sense another person coming in the room.

Another woman walked in. The man in the wheelchair said, "This is Jean Grey. You're both in my school for the gifted. For mutants. You'll be safe here from Magneto."

"What's a magneto?" my dad asks, not thinking it could be a who.

"A very powerful mutant, who believes a war, is brewing between mutants and the rest of humanity. I've been following his activities for some time. The man who attacked you is an associate of his, called Sabertooth."

"Sabertooth?" my dad asks, once again but this time, mockingly. "Storm?" he gestures toward her, thinking of the weird names. He turns to the man in the wheelchair and says, "What do they call you? Wheels?" he starts to laugh, gesturing me to follow him out. I don't but he doesn't take any notice. "This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of." He turns around and runs into Scott. "Cyclops, right?" Dad roughly grabs the front of his jacket and whispers "Wanna get out of my way?"

Before it can be taken further, the professor, I'm guessing, interjects. "Logan? It's been almost 15 years, hasn't it? Living from day to day, moving from place to place, knowing you are never safe as well as your daughter. She gave you back your memories about everything that had happened, didn't she?"

"Shut up!" dad hissed. He and I both knew that I was well over 15, more like around my 20's now but I still looked like I was 14 years old. That's how I'm going to act. I got the aging thing from my dad because we know he is at least 200 years old but he doesn't looked any older than his late 30's or early 40's.

"It could give your daughter a chance to actually have a life. You as well. You must be tired to traveling all over the place, I know Scout is." My dad turns to me, wondering if it was true. I stay silent as I make my way behind Storm and Scott.

My dad turns sharply to the professor and demands, "How the hell do you know what my daughter wants?"

"You're not the only ones with gifts." Was his answer.

My dad let me stay here but only few a week to see how I like it here. I was in a class with other students while Storm was teaching. This one boy made a fire with his hands behind his back. I was fascinated but that was shortly lived because the boy next to me froze the little ball of fire so it turned to ice and it shattered.

Storm accused the boy who made fire, John who I now know as Pyro. The boy next to me leaned over and whispered, "I'm Bobby. What's your name?"

"Scout."

He moves his hand over my desk and lays it there for a second then after a gold glow appeared, he removes it. When I see what he did, I saw an ice rose. My eyes go wide along with a smile on my face. I look over at Bobby and he had this cute little look on his face. "Welcome to Mutant High."

Over the week, I grew close to Pyro and Bobby. I also grew close to Scott and Storm. Storm was almost like a mother figure for me and Scott was always checking in on me, treating me like an older brother would. I was always interested about the things they told me about us mutants.

When the week was over, my dad knocked on the door. I allowed him to come in and I sat on my bed. He sat down next to me and threw an arm around my shoulders. "So, how do you like it here?"

"I really like it. I feel like, like I'm making a life here. I've already have some friends and I'm really interested in what everybody teaches me. I want to stay." I say the last part quietly, not knowing what his response would be.

He sighed, nodding his head. "Alright, we'll stay. But once in while I might have to leave to take care of some business…"

"I know. The professor already told me about you being part of the X-Men and going on missions." I cut him off.

I tell him I understand and he smiles at me. He goes up to leave and pauses at the door. He turns around and tells me, "You better be right about this. If anything goes wrong while staying here, I'm blaming you."


	5. Taken but Saved

I lay awake in my bed. I had a lot of things running through my mind. Such as _what would happen if I chose not to stay. What will come out of this experience? Will I regret this decision? _My thoughts are cut off by thoughts of my mother. _Would she be proud of me? What would she think of me now? Would she still care about me? Would she and dad still be together?_

I didn't want to think about any more of this stuff and I didn't want to sleep all by myself. I walked into my father's room and saw he was having a nightmare. I didn't know if I should wake him up or not because I knew either way was dangerous. I tried waking him up but when he did; he yelled and shot out his claws.

He sat upright and shoved them right into my side. I let out a scream as I stare at my father. It looked like he was still in his nightmare. That was until his eyes met mine. His face was full of mixed emotions. Many different emotions. He quickly pulled them out of me and stared at me, gasping for my breath. He starts to yell for help.

He looks like he wants to cry but quickly tries to cover it up when Scott, Jean and Storm walk in with other students, watching. I fall to the ground and try to catch my breath but I couldn't. I watch as the four adults make a fuss over me, trying to help me. I tried my best to stay awake; scared I might not wake up again. But my willpower wasn't strong enough.

When I woke up, it seemed at least a few hours have past. I woke up in a white room and saw Jean there. I try to move but she quickly stops me from doing so. "You're still weak. You need to rest."

"What happened?"

"You were stabbed by Logan when he was having a memory turned to a nightmare. He feels terrible. Maybe you shouldn't sneak up on him while he's sleeping."

I don't respond and glare at her. Sometimes she could be nice but other times, she could be a real bitch. I tried to remember everything, but when I did, it came all rushing over me like a tidal wave, crashing over a surfer. When she said she had to go see the professor, she told me not to go anywhere and not to get up. But I didn't listen. I got up and started walking around the room about half an hour after she left.

I was making my way toward the door when it swung open. I jumped from fright and saw who it was. I sigh in relief as I only see Scott standing there, looking shocked as well. "What are you doing out of bed? I thought Jean said not to."

When I don't answer and put my head down, I hear him sigh. He points over to the bed and I stalk over there like a little kid being sent to their room with Scott following me. I plop down and cover up in the blankets. He sits next to me in a chair next to the bed.

He puts a hand on my forehead and questions, "How are you feeling? You gave us all quite a scare."

"I'm fine, really. Just a little sore but that's all."

"Well, that's to be expected, I guess. Being stabbed with three claws in your body, that can wear you right out."

We start to talk and joke around a bit with each other. When I asked him where my dad was, he wouldn't look me in the eye. He told me that he was scared to see me, thought that I might hate him. No matter what he did and the purpose of it from last night, I knew it wasn't intentional. It was from the memories that he has, to haunt him for his life.

I've been awake and growing stronger during the week and Storm, Scott, and Jean finally said I could go outside if I wanted to. Pyro and Bobby have come to see me a few times but my dad never did. I was scared that he left me here but the professor reassured me that he just stayed in his room.

I was outside, sitting on a bench, near the small lake. I felt a presence behind me and when I looked, I saw my dad. It seemed like he didn't really know what to do so he took a seat next to me and started off with, "I'm sorry about last week."

I look at him and whisper, "Me too."

"I never meant for it to happen. I can't tell you how sorry I am, sweetheart." He only ever calls me that when he knows that I'm upset or when I'm in need for comfort. In this case, it's both.

"I know."

It was silent between the two of us for a moment before my dad spoke again. "I broke it. I broke the promise I made when your mother died."

I looked over at my dad and saw a lone tear fall from his eye. I shake my head, not wanting to see him in this state. I wrap my arms around his waist as he wraps his arms around my shoulders. We didn't need words being said to know that everything will be forgiven and forgotten.

The day after everything happened, it seemed like it all went back to normal. Bobby, Pyro, and I were hanging out. They still didn't really get along but they're nice to each other when I'm with them. It seems like at times, they act like best friends but at other times, it looks like they could kill one another.

Today was one of the good days. The three of us were running around outside, playing tag with our mutant powers. Bobby used his ice, Pyro used his fire, and I used my force field. While I spent the past few weeks here at the school, I have found out more of my powers. My eyes change color to the emotion I have, I can pause/freeze other's mutant's powers, I can create force fields, and I can bring back memories. But I already knew about the force field and the memories. That's how my dad can still remember everything that happened; otherwise he wouldn't know who he was, what he was, or anything about me.

While we were playing, I made sure to pause our powers so none of us would get burned or frozen. I went to go hide somewhere behind the lake, in the woods. I know I might've gone far but those boys can think of any place to hide. Besides, they never said what rules there were.

I was trying to stay silent but then I felt another presence. I quickly turn around and find Bobby. I sigh in relief. "Jesus, Bobby! You scared the shit outta me!"

I expect him to say sorry and blush but all he did was let out an evil chuckle along with a smirk. I get a little nervous as I start to back up. I see Bobby turn into a woman with blue skin and short red hair along with yellow eyes. The moment I'm about to scream, she sticks a needle in the back of my neck and I end up passing out.

The second I woke up, I started looking around. I found myself handcuffed to a pole and on a boat. I see the blue woman in the same room and I glare at her as she gives me a sick smile. She walks over to the door and in steps an old man, in a red suit.

The man looks over at the Statue of Liberty as we were passing it. "Magnificent, isn't she?"

"I've seen it." I said, calmly yet at the same time, being a smartass. Thank goodness I picked up a few things from my dad. I feel my eyes turn purple. Hope.

"I first saw her in 1949. America was going to be the land of tolerance. Of peace." The man must be Magneto.

I looked over and saw a dead man in the corner. I looked up back at Magneto and asked bravely, "Are you going to kill me?"

He stares at me for a minute until he answers. "Yes."

"Why?" I had tears in my eyes but didn't allow them to fall. I then felt my eyes turn blue. Sad. I think my dad would be proud of me, knowing how tough and brave I am right now.

"Because there is no land of tolerance. There is no peace, not here or anywhere else. Women and children, whole families destroyed simply because they were born different from those in power. Well, after tonight, the worlds powerful will be just like us. They will return home as brothers. As mutants. Our cause will be theirs. Your sacrifice will mean our survival." There was somebody behind me so I looked and saw the man everyone knows as Sabertooth. "I'll understand if that comes as a small consolation." Magneto looks over at Sabertooth and orders "Put her in the machine."

Sabertooth breaks my handcuffs and throws me over his shoulder. I start to beat his back, punching and kicking, demanding he let me go. I knew it was hopeless. He drags me up to the top of the Statue of Liberty and chains my hands. Once he leaves I felt my eyes turn white with blue and red specks in them. Scared. Sad. Anger.

I felt other people's presence in the building. I guess this is another of my powers. Got that one from my dad, knowing when other people are with you. Once I knew who it was, I started yelling for help, hoping they could hear me.

I knew they could hear me, especially my dad. I hear a voice in my head. Jean's voice. _'Scout? Keep calm. We'll figure out a way to get to you.' _As much as I wanted to believe her, I was afraid they wouldn't make it to me in time.

The door opened and in came Magneto. I stopped crying and put on a tough act and I glared at him. Since my arms were wrapped in metal, he could control them and made them attached to the two poles so I couldn't move. He made a move to leave but my voice stopped him. "Please, don't do this."

He turns around and says before leaving, "I'm sorry, my dear."

The ground that I was stuck on started rising. I was in the air, on top of the Statue of Liberty. The walls around me broke right off and the wind of it made me scream. The rings around me started moving so fast, I couldn't see anything. I brought my head down, waiting for death to take me.

I heard someone next to me after what felt like hours and when I looked up, I saw someone who I thought had given up. I guess I have to have a lot more faith in my dad. I see him raise his claws and gets ready to break me free but something stops him. Magneto freezes his body.

I tried to do something but all I could do was scream from the pain and fear. I didn't know what had happened because I felt my body slide down to the floor, limp. I woke up just a few moments later, after thinking I was dead.

I felt arms around my body, hugging me close to theirs. I try to move but the pain made me gasp. The person pulls away and looks me in the eyes. My dad looks at me, almost studying my face, trying to remember it, if anything happens. I didn't know I was crying until he started wiping the tears from my eyes, whispering comforting words. Telling me it's going to be alright and that I'm safe.

Before I passed out again, I felt him slide his arms under my legs and behind my back, picking me up in his arms, walking away and telling me, "Let's go home."


	6. Goodbye or Not

When I woke up, I saw I was in the same white room I was in before. But I didn't see anyone in there with me this time. I looked down and saw that my hands and part of my arms were bandaged up. I was confused at first but then I remembered what had happened.

I got out of bed and started walking around in the room. I saw a lot of computers and different screens and everything I didn't notice before. I hear the creak of the door opening and when I turn around, I see Storm with a big smile on her face. She quickly runs over to me and gives me a hug.

When she hugged me, I suddenly remembered what it felt like to have a mom. Storm took care of me and I could talk to her about boys and all that stuff. After so many years, I had a mother figure. I had a father who cares and protects me. I had friends who accept me for who I am. I even have an older brother who likes to hang out and joke around with me. It seems like I have a family here.

She pulls away and gives me a gentle smile. "How are you feeling? You've been out for several days. Those boys you hang out with have been pretty worried. They've been sticking together since you got taken. I thought they couldn't stand each other?"

I get a big smile on my face. "Yea. Bobby and Pyro. They usually don't like each other but sometimes they'll get along. Do you know where everybody is?"

"Yea. Logan is in his room; Jean and Scott are in the training arena, and those boys, Bobby and Pyro are wandering the hallways."

"Am I allowed to leave?" I ask, remembering the last time I tried to leave and got caught by Scott.

"Yea, why wouldn't you be?"

"Last time, I ran into Scott. He wouldn't let me leave…" I trail off.

Storm starts to chuckle. "Don't worry. You can leave any time you want. It seems your ok and Logan came to save your life again."

She left after that and Left me to change into some clothes. I wanted to see my dad but I didn't want to disturb him if he's doing anything so I went to go find Bobby and Pyro first. On the way there, I run into Scott and Jean.

"Scout!" Scott runs over to me and swings me around in a hug. We both start laughing as he gently puts me down.

Jean comes behind him and gives me a gentle hug. "We're glad you're alright."

"So am I." I say with a smile. "Hey have either of you guys seen Pyro or Bobby?"

"Uh, yea actually. We passed them not to long ago. They asked how you were doing and then they said they were both going to the arcade." Scott answers.

"Thanks!" I give Jean another hug in which she returns and I give Scott a kiss on the cheek. I was about to walk away but he pulls my in for another hug and kisses me on the head. I smile at him when he pulls away. He smiles back and lets me go find the two boys I call my best friends.

I walk into the arcade, almost cautiously. I see them playing foosball and I make my way over to them. I don't even say a word when Bobby looks up and sees me. His eyes go wide as he jumps over the table, shoving Pyro out of his way. He was about to make a rude comment but he stops when he sees me.

I smile a little at the two and they come hurdling toward me. I get a little scared so I put a force field around me. They run into it and look at me confusingly. "Don't kill me. I'm still healing and I'm still a bit weak. After I'm strong enough then you guys can kill me if you want."

I drop the force field and they both chuckle. I get a hug from Pyro first and then I get one from Bobby. The hug from him lasted a bit longer than Pyro's but it felt good and not awkward like you'd think. We pull away and we both blush.

"You wanna play with us?" Pyro asks, not noticing our blush.

"Yea, sure!" I bounce over to the table as they quickly follow me. It was Pyro against me and Bobby. Of course we were winning, two against won but we didn't care. The three of us kept playing, cursing each other out. All the while Scott, Jean, and Storm watching the news.

After about an hour of playing, I started to get a little bored and wanted to play something else. But before I could say anything, I felt a presence watching me from the door. I look and see my dad with a bag over his shoulder, walking toward the door, his back toward me.

I tell the guys that I'll be right back and follow my dad. Right when he's about to open the door, I spoke up. "I hope you were going to at least say goodbye before you left me."

He turned around and saw my eyes filled with blue but a little bit of red, white, purple, and even some orange specks around the middle. Sadness. Anger. Fear. Hope. Confusion.

He sighed as he came to wrap his arms around my body. I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tight, not wanting him to go. He pulled away and told me, "I've got some business to take care of up North, Kid. I know you helped me remember my memories and everything but I need to try to find any kind of trace of my brother. You're Uncle Victor."

My blood turns cold as I remember what he did all those years ago. I nod my head in understanding but with tears flowing down my face, freely. But I couldn't help to tell my father, "I don't want you to go."

He looks at me for a minute and it looks like he's trying to think. He grabs his dog tags, pulls it over his head, and wraps it around my neck. He looks at me with trusting eyes. "I hope you keep them safe. I'll be back for these. I'll also be back for this." Just as he says the last part, he wraps me in a hug once more.

I hug my father back, trying to keep the tears from falling. He pulls away and nods his head at me. Just as he was about to open the door again I couldn't help myself. "Wait!" I grab his arm so he faces me. I grab my mother's necklace that was now deemed mine. I pull it over my head and try my best to wrap it around his neck because of how tall he is. His eyes only show confusion but I look back at him with trusting eyes. "I hope you keep this safe. I'm expecting you to return with it, both you and the necklace, safe and sound. Promise?"

"I Promise. I also promise that I will come back for you so then we can be a family again."

"Ok."

I watch my father walk out the door, leaving me behind. I stay by the window, watching him leave. I see him walk out the door outside, but then I see him stop. I start to feel hope, thinking he decided not to leave. But then I see him taking Scott's motorcycle with a smirk. I smile at my dad, knowing he will never change.

I go back inside with everybody else. As much as I wanted to have fun with Pyro and Bobby, I just went to Scott. I knew he would comfort me like a big brother and right now, that's all I wanted. I walk over to him and tap on his shoulder. He looks up, almost annoyed that I've distracted him from the news. But that was until he saw my tears and the color of my eyes. They were almost all blue. Even my tears were a certain kind of blue.

He pulls me onto his lap and starts to stroke my hair as I cry into his chest. Everyone starts to crowd me but I just lean into Scott, only wanting him at the moment and hoping he will help me. He gets the hint and tells everybody to give me some space and give me some time to calm down.

Once I stopped crying, Scott finally asked me the question I've been dreading. "Dad left! He left! I'm scared he's not coming back. What if he gets hurt? What if he died? What would I do?! What will happen?"

Scott just kept shushing me, rocking me back and forth, and stroking my hair. Storm kneeled in front of me, put both her hands on the sides of my face and made me look at her. "He'll come back. He loves you more than anything. Have faith in him. I seriously doubt that Logan would die and if something does happen to him, then you'll always have us. Don't forget that. It's not like how it used to be for you. This time you have people to help you through this. You're not alone anymore. You have a home and a family, now."

I look deep in her eyes and can tell she meant every word of it. I spread open my arms and she wraps me in a big hug, knowing how much I must be hurting. I try to remember the feeling of being with a family and having so many people caring for you. It's hard to remember but easy to cherish.

I give a hug to everyone and whisper a 'Thank you' in their ear. When I got to Bobby, our hug lasted longer like last time. It would've been even longer but Scott started 'coughing'. I had a small smirk on my face, knowing he will be like an older brother through and through. I knew that while my dad is gone, Scott will take over the protective role and always be there for me. As will everyone else.

Everyone was right. I knew my dad would come home. He had to. He wouldn't leave me. I know he will keep that promise he made to me. He's the strongest person I know. He doesn't give up once he set his mind to it. I'm starting to see myself more and more like my father every day. I can barely remember my mother but I know she will always be watching over me. So will my new family.


	7. While Gone

My dad has been gone for months now. Sometimes I receive letters from him, though. He always tells me how much he misses me and how he's doing. In almost every letter, he tells me about how he is protecting the necklace. Since he keeps traveling around, I never get to write him any letters. I can never tell him how I'm doing or how much I miss him, or even how I never take his dog tags off. If anyone tried, there would be hell to pay for.

A lot of things have happened since then. Scott and I have gotten even closer but he's gotten over protective and really strict. Just like an older brother…sadly. Pyro and I have been working on our powers by dueling each other, but not enough intensity to hurt each other. Bobby and I have gotten closer. Storm has taken even a bigger step to being a mother towards me. Jean and I, I guess you could call us sisters. We talk sometimes and she helps me out whenever she can but we're not as close as I am with the others.

Scott and I were in the training arena, him teaching me how to defend myself. He's been teaching me this stuff since my dad left and at first, it was fun but lately, he's been being too hard on me, making me practice for hours a day. Today, he's been throwing his lasers at me, making me use my force field.

I was growing weak from training for all these hours. I felt my eyes turn a color that was new. Grey, meaning exhausted and tired. Scott kept rising the level of the lasers, making me weaker. I gave out a yell and dropped to my knees. Scott stopped immediately and stalked over to me with a scowl on his face.

I could tell he was glaring at me even with his glasses. "Get up. You gotta stop being weak! Take on new challenges and face your fears! You'll never get anywhere if you can't do that!"

"Well, I'm sorry but I've been trying to fight off your lasers for hours! I'm tired, I need rest. I haven't even eaten yet and it's almost four o'clock in the afternoon. You woke me up at nine in the morning. I bet you had a pretty good breakfast, huh?!"

"That's not the point! If you don't keep training then how will you defend yourself when you get in a fight? How will you protect yourself when nobody is there? You'll end up taken again or even killed!" Scott demanded.

He spoke in such a harsh tone; I had tears come to my eyes. I normally wouldn't get worked up over it but this is Scott. My older brother, always being gentle with me, trying to keep me calm and safe. I wrapped me arms around myself, putting my head down. I was about to get back up and do as he says when a voice interrupted us.

"Scout, can you go check on Pyro? I think he burned himself while practicing with Bobby." Storm and Jean were at the door. I could tell that was a lie and that Jean was just telling me that so I could get some rest.

I nod my head as I walk out the door. As my back was turned toward them, I could still hear Scott yelling at them for letting me leave and they were yelling back for making me work so hard. I get to my room and plop on my bed. I cover up in my blankets and grab the dog tags in my fist. I fell asleep within seconds.

When I woke up, I felt a presence in my room. They were sitting on my bed, next to me, stroking my hair and humming softly. When I look up, I see Storm was there. She looks at me with pity in her eyes. I just shake it off telling her that I didn't want any pity.

She still speaks to me softly. "You know Scott is only worried about you. We all are. We don't want to see you get hurt again and with your dad gone, we know we have to do everything we can to help protect you, Baby Girl."

I turn to her with almost red and blue eyes. "Believe it or not, I'm older than I look. I know how to take care of myself, I know what my limits are, and when I know I can't push any farther and I've used up my strength, I give up."

I ended up telling her everything about my age. She was shocked at first but accepted it. I went to the professor a while back and asked why it looks like I'm growing up. His answer was that when I find a family_,_ then my age will continue with that family and I will no longer always look 14. I will grow up and live a life.

Storm understands me and tells me that she'll always be there for me if I ever needed her. Now where have I heard that before? Once she left, I got in some clothes and went to walk around the mansion. As I was walking, I got lost in my own thoughts, not caring or paying attention to where I was going.

Almost every day I wish my dad would come back. I miss him and he would never make me train this hard. No matter what it was about, the second he saw me tired, he would stop and tell me to take a break and do something fun and relaxing. I keep all the letters from him, in a box under my bed. It has many pictures, videos, and letters in there.

They're all of my mom and dad, Bobby, Pyro, Storm, Jean, and Scott. When Pyro found the box, he went through it and saw there were no pictures of me. I told him that this box was for the people I care about. He looked me in the eye that day and asked, "So what? You don't care about yourself?"

I'll admit, he had a point. But I never worried about myself. I only thought of the people around me. But that day, Pyro made me put lots of pictures in there that were of me. Some were cute, some were funny, some were sad, and some were happy. But that's how life is.

When he asked me why I kept all this stuff, the only answer I could give him was, "Because, life is nothing but the unexpected. You never know what can happen and if anything happens to me or any of you guys, I'll always have this to look back on."

At first he thought it was kinda stupid because he doesn't really pay attention to life. Most people don't but I do. Sadly, I learned that the hard way. That's why I'm always scared to get close to some people. Others who told me that they would always be there for me, left. Left me back in the dust.

I wasn't paying attention to where I was going or who was around me until I bumped right into someone. I hit their chest and fell on my ass. My eyes turn red as I look up; ready to give the person a bunch of shit. But I only saw Bobby, looking sorry.

He offered his hand to help me up. "Sorry, Kitten. I didn't see you there." That was actually one of my many nicknames. Bobby calls me Kitten, Scott calls me Angel, Pyro calls me Doll, and Storm calls me Baby Girl. Jean just calls me Scout. But that's ok because I still remember what my dad always calls me. It's always either Kid or Scout. Personally, I like Kid better. It's original. They all are.

"No, it's fine. I wasn't looking where I was going either. I guess we're both at blame here." I chuckle.

"Hey, I was actually looking for ya. I, uh, was wondering if you… uh, if you wanted to…you know, go out sometime?" Bobby stuttered.

I smile and give him a nod. "Yeah, that sounds great!"

"Really? Awesome! Is tomorrow night ok for you?"

"Yea, you know I don't have anything planned at all. Except for the training…" I trail off.

"Hey, speaking of that how's that going for ya? You getting any better?"

"Uh, it's really hard, actually. Scott never lets me rest. I only got out of this one thanks to Jean and Storm." I respond.

"Well, I hope everything works out ok. I also hope to see you at the bench by the lake around…let's say seven o'clock, tomorrow evening?" he looks nervous.

"Definitely. I'll see you there." I blush. I felt little specks of pink in my eyes. Blush or embarrassment.

After we part, I run upstairs and get into bed. I couldn't wait for the date with Bobby, I wanted tomorrow to come as fast as possible. I was so excited I almost couldn't fall asleep. But I did end up waking up around the middle of the night. It was normal for me to wake up really late at night. As I was making my way down to the kitchen to get a little late night snack, I knew someone was already there.

I pushed myself against the wall and peeked over the edge of it. The sight surprised me. There was Scott, facing me but with his glasses off, his eyes shut tight. He had a coffee mug in one hand and his other hand was trying to hold his head up.

I tried to be as quiet as I could and walk away but he knew. Scott snapped his head in my direction as whispered, "Angel? Is that you?"

I didn't want to ignore him so I answered. "Yea, it's me. What are you doing up so late?"

"I couldn't sleep. I also wanted to talk to you. I was hoping I would meet up with you down here." He motions me over to sit next to him at the table.

Instead I sit right across from him and that was good enough for him. He puts his glasses back on and looks at me. He stares at me for a while before speaking. "Look, Angel. I'm real sorry. I shouldn't push you so hard. You're still a kid, you need to have fun, not spend your days in a training arena. I promise I'll go a lot easier on you and a lot less hours, ok?"

"Scott, that's not what was wrong. It was only a little part of it. The way you kept speaking to me, the way you would always scold me or glare at me because I couldn't do something right. I know you want me to get stronger and all but I don't want to train with that Scott. I want to train with the Scott I know. The one that is always there when I need him. My older brother Scott."

I look at him and I see a tear fall from his face. "If that's what you want, then ok. I know I've been really harsh with you for a while. I'm just scared, I guess. I'm scared that you'll leave, trying to find Logan and end up getting hurt. The last time I saw you in pain, it wasn't pleasant. I don't want to have to see that again."

"You won't. Not as long as I'm where my family is. I know I shouldn't always depend on you guys but I know you guys won't let me get hurt and you'll protect me at all costs. And I would do the same for every one of you guys."

He sighs and gives me a soft smile. "That's my problem. You care so much for other people, I never see you worry about yourself. You're always thinking of the people around you. And as much as I hate to admit it, you're just like Logan. You guys are so much alike it's almost scary but yet you're both so different."

We both smile and laugh at this, knowing it's true. I felt the sting in my eyes from tears coming. I knew I just got back my older brother that has been gone for quite a while. And he knew it too. I knew what I was going to ask next might cause some trouble but I was curious. "Scott?"

"Hmm?" he takes a drink from his coffee.

"…What color are your eyes?"

He practically choked on his coffee. He looks at me, uncertainly. "Uh, I don't really remember. The last time I saw what color they were was when I was a little boy. That was a long time ago."

I had an idea but I knew he would try to object to it. It was worth a shot. "Can I see your eyes?"

He looks at me like I'm crazy and starts to shake his head. "No way! No way in hell. I'll end up blasting you."

"No, one of my powers is to pause or freeze someone else's power. Besides remember what you said to me earlier today? I've got to challenge myself. You've gotta face your fears too. I wanna see if I can do it. Please, Scott." I say with hope.

"Angel, that wasn't me talking, remember? That was a different me. I don't want to risk hurting you. You don't know how dangerous this could be." He warns. I lift my hand up, to remove his glasses, slowly. But he quickly grabs my hands, almost begging me. "Scout, please. What if something went wrong?"

I know he's serious when he calls me Scout but I still look at him and say, "You know I can do it, Scott. You just have to believe in me. Let me try. Please."

I can tell he doesn't want to but he lets my hands go. I grab his glasses and pull them off. I carefully put them on the table. When I look at his eyes, I see they are shut tight. I gently grab both his hands as he slowly opens his eyes.

At first they were filled with red from the lasers but they were gone within seconds. His eyes had little specks of it before all the red was completely gone. He stared at me as I looked in his eyes. They were like a deep blue. Like an ocean blue.

I tried to remember his eyes, knowing he will never show them again. He spoke with nervousness in his voice. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"No, no. Everything is fine. You should try to show Jean your eyes. She'll love them." I say with a smile.

He smiles back but only just. "Yea, well I don't think I'll be showing anybody my eyes for a good while. You were lucky tonight, Angel."

"Thank you, Scott. That means a lot." I give him his glasses back and he puts them on as fast as he could.

He turns to the clock and back to me. "I think we both should be getting to bed now. It's late."

We both make our way up the stairs, forgetting the usual midnight snack and his coffee. He follows me into my room as I hop in bed. He throws the blankets over my body and tucks me in. He gives me a kiss on the forehead before walking toward the door. My voice stops him in his tacks. "Scott, wait. I don't wanna be alone tonight. Can you stay with me? Please?"

He chuckles as he sits on the edge of my bed. "Ok, but only until you fall asleep. I got my own bed, you know?" Just when he says that, I scoot over and make room for him. Neither of us says anything as he lies down next to me, wrapping his arms around me, making me feel protected and not alone.

"Night, Angel." My older brother mumbles.

"Night, Scott." I respond as we both fall into a peaceful sleep.


	8. Dog Tags

The next morning I was woken by someone shaking me. When I groan and roll over, the person threw my over their shoulder. I was awake in an instant and I started beating on the persons back. They just chuckled and ran down the stairs. When we got to the kitchen, they plopped me in a chair then sat next to me.

I look over with a scowl on my face and glare at Scott. "You know, that wasn't a nice way to wake someone up."

"You got a big day today, don't ya, Angel? It's going all around the school on how Bobby Drake asked you out on a date tonight." Scott gets this devil smile.

I look at him suspiciously. "What are you planning, Summers?"

He tries his best to look innocent while he puts a plate of breakfast in front me. "Nothing. I just might've informed Jean and Storm on this. And now they might want to take you shopping today at the mall."

My eyes go wide as I get up and start running after him. He's in his 20's while I'm 14 and I'm the one chasing him around the mansion. We don't know what room we were in until I jumped on his back and we both fell on the ground with a big thump. "I'm gonna kill you, Scott Summers!"

"Well, now. Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed, now didn't she?" We hear a voice above us. When we look up, we see Professor Xavier.

We both get up as quick as we could. We stand, side by side in a respectable manor. "Uh, professor. Scott here has set up a shopping day with Jean and Storm for me. And he knows how much I HATE shopping."

"I see. Jean and Storm told me that they had to do a little girls day out with you today. I understand if you don't want to go but imagine how crushed those two girls would be." Professor Xavier pulls out the guilt card.

"Uugghh. Fine! But only for them." I stalk out of the room and finish by breakfast.

I went up to my room and started getting ready. Once I was done, I lay on my bed and started reading. About an hour later I hear Jean's voice in my head. _'Scout, we're ready. You can come downstairs and we'll meet you down there.'_

I listen and meet them downstairs. But there was someone with them. "Pyro, what are you doing?"

"He's coming with us. We would've asked Scott to come but we need adult supervision here and he'll say no to everything that looks good on you. So we're bringing Pyro for a guy's opinion." Storm informed me.

He looks so calm yet uncomfortable. Probably because he's going shopping with three girls and two of them are his teachers. I grab a hold of his hand as we walk out the door, giving him a reassuring smile, silently telling him that it will be an ok day. I was kinda convincing myself and him.

The car ride wasn't interesting. It was silent but when I insisted that we turn on the radio, we were all singing and bouncing in our seats. When we arrived, we all got out of the car and stared at the mall. I've never been here before and I don't think Pyro has either. At first we were a little intimidated on how large it was and how many people were there but we both soon relaxed.

We entered our first store and it was filled hit hats, glasses, coats, necklaces, bracelets, and even earrings. Jean and Storm started looking at them, casually while Pyro and I were trying on weird hats. We started acting like we had swag…which we don't.

After that, we started on trying huge coats and goofy glasses. That was until Storm started scolding us, like we were her children and we were misbehaving. We put our heads down, acting ashamed, trying to hide our smirks from having fun.

Jean and Storm pulled us over to the side and started talking in hushed voices. "Guy's, we're not being strict. We're just acting like it. So people don't get suspicious, calls one of us Mom and the other one Aunt. We don't want people to think we're two girls who took children away from their home, got it?"

We understood completely. As if we silently agreed to it, I picked Storm to be my _Mom_ and Jean to be my _Aunt_ while Pyro needs to be called John, which is his real name, picked Jean for his _Mom_ and Storm his _Aunt_. So we made it we were cousins.

We still parted away from our _moms_ and went to the side of the store. _John_ was showing me new tricks with his fire, like he could shape them. I was so memorized by the shapes; I didn't even feel anyone approach us._ John_ quickly put out his fire and glared over my shoulder. I slowly turned around and saw two older boys, around 17 walking over to us.

They stopped in front of us and the bigger one said to _John_, "You got a light?"

_John_ kept saying he didn't while the other one kept staring at me. The next thing I know, the smaller one, a little bigger than _John _and I, grabbed my dog tags and ripped them away from my neck. I gasped and widen my eyes as I glare at the one who took them.

I felt my eyes turn blood red. I even felt fire in them. I don't think I've been this mad before. I demanded that they hand them over. But the guy who took them kept looking at the, swinging it around his hand, tossing it up in the air. "What kind of stupid name is Wolverine?"

I felt even more fire built up in my eyes and I growled, "That's my dad's. Give it back before you get hurt."

"Oh, tough girl, now isn't she? I would suggest you shut your pretty little face before we shut it for ya." The bigger one threatened.

I was getting more pissed with every second that ticked by. I felt my hair turn to flames. The two boys started to look terribly scared. Pyro stepped up and used my fire hair and threw some at the two boys. "I think you should do what this young lady asked of you. You might want to hand over the dog tags before anyone has to get hurt."

The two guys threw my dog tags over our heads and fled the store. My hair turned back to normal but my eyes didn't. We started looking for the dog tags until we found them. Pyro told me to stay over in the corner and wait for him to come back with Jean and Storm.

I was still shaking and there was still fire in my eyes. I slowly slid down the wall and rested my head on my hands, closing my eyes, trying to calm myself. I felt people coming so I quickly looked up. I saw a shocked Jean, a worried Pyro, and a concerned Storm. Storm knelt in front of me and made some rain fall over my face, with wind blowing my hair, calming me down.

Once I calmed down a bit, I knew the fire in my eyes was gone but I was still shaking and there were still red specks in my eyes. Storm carefully placed a hand over mine and asked, "Baby Girl, what happened? Are you ok?"

I shook my head as I felt the tears coming. Jean suggested that we hurry out of the mall and discuss this in the car. And we did just that. Once we all got buckled in and started to drive away, I let the tears fall. Jean was slowly driving home so we could talk, Pyro had his arm around my shoulders to comfort me, and Storm was waiting for me to calm down so she could ask what happened.

I was still staking but only a little now. Storm thought this would be a good time to talk. "Scout, you have to tell us what happened. Did you get hurt? Did someone say something?"

I shut my eyes tight and whispered, "No, somebody tried to take my dog tags. Pyro helped me get them back but I still almost lost them. They were my dad's ever since he could remember. He said he trusts me to protect them and I almost lost them. This is almost his life. If they took it, he would never forgive me and I wouldn't have anything to keep me close to my dad!"

"Come on, Doll. You know that's not true." Pyro disagrees.

Jean stepped in on this one too. "John's right, Scout. Logan would love you just the same even if those people did take your dog tags. Remember he promised to come back? Even if it killed him, he would keep that promise. And those dog tags aren't his life. You are. You should know that."

I knew they were right but I also knew how close I was to breaking my promise. I almost broke the one where I promised my dad to protect his dog tags. It came so close. Too close. When we got back to the mansion, Pyro had one arm around my shoulders and the other holding one of my arms, leading me inside, both our heads down with Jean and Storm were behind us.

We were met with Scott at the door with a smile on his face, waiting for us. "Hey, how did the shopping go?" When he didn't see any of us carrying bags inside he was confused. "Did you guys not find anything you liked?"

I look at him with blue eyes and walked upstairs with Pyro right behind me. I could vaguely hear Storm and Jean telling Scott what had happened. We both got to my room and sat on my bed. Pyro still had his arm around my shoulders as I gripped my dog tags in my fist, leaned into Pyro and let a few tears escape once more.

Pyro kept trying to make me feel better. "Come on, Doll. Everything is ok now. No need to be sad. If you want, I could tell Bobby that you had a rough day and that you need to rain check your date."

I immediately sat up and looked him straight in the eye. "No! No, I'm ok. I've got three more hours until the date. I just need to set out everything and clean up. I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"You sure, Scout?"

I realize everybody calls me Scout when they're real serious. I nod my head as he makes his way toward the door. He stops and turns to me before leaving and informs me, "You know, I've seen a lot of scary things in my life. But so far, you were the scariest. You really got a lot of power in you."

I sit on my bed for about a half hour, thinking about what he said, before getting everything ready. I got my dress set out along with my boots. I'll dress up for something important like this but I'm not going all out. I've got to be original.

After I got everything set up, I put it all on and rest on my bed for a bit. I just lay there, lost in my thought. I'm snapped back into reality when I hear a knock on my door. I hoped it wasn't Bobby so I asked, "Who is it?"

"Scott. Can I come in?"

Instead of answering, I open the door and motion him to come in. I sit on my bed once more while he follows me. He stares at me for a minute before talking. "You look beautiful, Angel. Your dad would be real proud of you." I look at him with tears in my eyes but decide not to let them fall. "Speaking of Logan, I was gonna give you this once you guys got home. Instead I let you have some time to yourself." He puts something in my lap.

Before I can ask what it's for, he stands up, ready to leave. He kisses me on the forehead and whispers, "Have fun tonight." and walks out the door.

As confused as I was, I saw a letter in my lap. It doesn't say who it's from but there's only one word written on the front of it, in messy handwriting.

_Scout_

I knew who it was from immediately and ripped open the letter. As I do after I read every letter, I got teary eyed but stayed strong, knowing my dad is ok and alive.


	9. Unexpected

_Dear Kid,_

_ How ya doin? I guess you can't answer that when you can't write me back. I haven't found anything that could tell me where Victor is but I've found some traces. It looks like I'll be coming home soon. The necklace is still safe. I was attacked by someone not to along ago and they tried to take it. They really got some payback for that one._

_ I miss ya, Kid. I hope nothing too big has happened while I was gone. But I expect there has what with me being gone for almost a year. I hope you haven't changed much over time. But I know you have. I just hope not too big of a change. I wish I could see what you look like right now. I always wonder if you look like your mother or me._

_ I'll be home soon, like I said. Maybe in a month or two I'll se ya again. Keep holding up, will ya? I know this whole thing has been tough but it's almost all over. Just hang in there a little bit longer. I'll see ya soon, Scout._

_ From, Your father_

When I finished the letter, I put it with all the others, in the box under my bed. And after every letter, I feel my eyes turn blue. Sure I'm happy he's coming home, I just wish I could see him sooner. Not in a month or two.

I looked at the clock and saw it was almost seven. I walked out of the mansion and sat at the bench where Bobby said to meet him at. I was sitting there alone for about only five minutes until I heard someone running over to me. There was Bobby, catching his breath. "I'm sorry I'm late, Kitten. Scott and John were trying to help me get everything ready. I just forgot to look at the time."

I let out a small chuckle as I make my way over to him. "It's no big deal. I wasn't even here for that long. Don't worry about it, alright?"

All I get for an answer is a smile. He grabs my hand and slowly leads me down a hill. When we got to the bottom of it, there was a blanket under a tree, with a candle, a basket, and a few flowers. I was shocked on how much he put into this. I turn to him and see his face is filled with nervousness. "Do you like it?"

I throw my arms around him as I almost shout, "I love it! It's beautiful, Bobby. I never imagined this."

He gives me a small smile. "Well then, you just have to be a little more creative, then don't ya?"

We laugh as we sit down on the blanket. He sets out a small dinner. One with sandwiches, chips, coke bottles, burgers, hotdogs, and even little chocolate bars. It was definitely different. But that was what made it amazing. It wasn't typical or usual. It was simple and different.

We start to eat our dinner and have a good time. We tease one another, tell each other stories, and Bobby even fed me a little piece of chocolate. He told me to open up and he carefully put in my mouth. We stared at each other for a while after that. Silence was in the air until he broke it. "You got a little, uh…" he gestured over to the corner of my mouth.

I tried to wipe it off, quickly, panicking as he just chuckled. He stopped my hands and leaned over towards me. "Here, I'll get it." He gently wipes a bit of ketchup off my cheek as we stare in each other's eyes.

We start to lean toward the other. We were about to meet in the middle, that was until something came out of the woods and flew over our heads. We both screamed and stood up, ready to fight. Since it was so dark, we didn't know who it was or what they looked like. But I could feel where they were. I felt them land behind us as I warned Bobby.

We both tried to aim at the intruder as best as we could. We could only see the person next to us. Meaning I could only see Bobby and he could only see me. I didn't know what happened but I got hit with what felt like nails/claws and flew right into a tree. As I fall, face first in the ground, I hear Bobby yell my name. I can see him really start fighting, royally pissed, yelling at the unknown person.

I get back up as fast as I could and get back in the fight. My eyes turned red once more that day as I saw the person charging at Bobby. I threw a force field around him and saw him give me a grateful nod. Bobby throws ice at him and the mutant started to freeze. I was getting ready to trap him in a force field but he broke through the ice.

He ripped through the ice, breaking it into a million pieces. We were about to start fighting him again when we heard them chuckle. It was a deep chuckle, no doubt belonging to a guy. Right before the man ran back into the woods, he called out over his shoulder, "Better be careful next time, Scout."

To say we were shocked was the least. We ran back into the mansion and straight into the professor's office. He looked up from his paper work and asked us what was wrong. We told him what happened but afterword, he told Bobby to wait outside for me.

"Scout, can you explain what this person looked like. Did you see anything, hear anything, any clues?"

I nod my head slowly, remembering. "Yea, a bit. I didn't see what he looked like but he had claws or really long nails if you wanna call it that. He had a really deep voice and it seemed like he was targeting me. He knew my name. He told me to be careful next time. What does that mean, Professor? Who was that?"

The professor sighed and he looked tired and concerned. "Scout, you must be very careful. That man was most likely your Uncle Victor. I'm not sure what he wanted but it seemed like he wanted something to do with you. Whenever you leave this mansion or even go outside, make sure someone is with you. I don't know when or if he will return."

"Yes, Professor. Thank you. Can you inform the others about this, please?" I ask, meaning Scott, Jean, Storm and possible Pyro. He knew who I meant and after he agreed, he let me go.

When I walked out of his office, there was Bobby, waiting for me, looking worried. He jumped up from his seat and we both started walking up the stairs, up to our rooms. We walked to mine first, him following me, basically escorting me.

Bobby looked me in the eyes and asked, "Sure you sure you're ok? You hit that tree really hard. Is there anything you want me to do?"

"Bobby, I'm fine. Relax, it's not the end of the world." I joke. I tell him everything that the professor had told me and he was surprised.

He didn't know how to react over this so he jumped to the next subject. "Sorry about our date getting ruined. I didn't expect anything like that to happen."

I give him a gentle smile and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Hey it's ok. Some things happen without anybody knowing it. Accidents happen. Besides, I actually had a really good time."

"Really?"

"Yea, it was really fun. Sincerely."

"Well, then. I hope to do this again soon." He gives me a kiss on the cheek and starts to walk away. "Goodnight. Sleep well."

"You too." I whisper.

I go in my room and jump on my bed, I'm so happy. It was almost like living in a fairytale. The girl gets the boy. Or the boy gets the girl. Either way, it's a win-win situation. I quickly got into my jammies and hopped in my bed. Before I fell asleep, I had a tight grip on my dog tags, thinking about the future. I dreamed of dating Bobby and my dad coming home, probably the best dream I've had in a long time. I felt so real but when I woke up, I realized it was only a dream and that I have to get back into reality. But it seems like that dream will come true soon.


	10. Come Back

It has been three months. Three months since I got the old Scott back. Three months since me and Bobby started dating. Three months since I almost lost my dog tags. Three months since I got my dad's letter. And one month over what my dad told me he said he would be home by. He said he would be back in one or two months. Instead it's been three months. It's been over a year now.

All though it's been three months, Bobby and I haven't kissed yet. We both thought it should be saved for a special time and when we were ready to take that step. It's only been three months. We've might have known each other for over a year but…it's still a bit new to us.

Scott has been protective and gentle again. He's never harsh, unless I break some rules. He is always asking me how I'm doing and asking if I need anything. Whenever we're practicing, he's makes sure that I can handle it and telling me if he's going to hard then I need to speak up. He's been cautious; I guess the word you would use.

Storm has been very motherly. She and Scott help me with my homework when I'm having trouble. And when they do, it's like an actually family thing. Storm asks for details whenever I hang out with Bobby and she always kids around with me. It's like she's a mom and a best friend. Jean is sorta a friend. Again, we're not very close.

Bobby and I were up in my room, hanging out. Scott would be livid if he found Bobby in my room with me. We were both looking at some pictures I kept. He thought it was cute how I kept those pictures but when he asked me why I kept so many of them, I answered, "Because, every picture tells a story. Whether it's sad, funny, cute, or happy. They all tell you something different."

He looks at me with this amazed look. "You really do look on the bright side of things in life, don't ya?"

I shrug like it's no big deal. "Yea, why wouldn't I? Sometimes life can be really bad. But every life has to have some kind of happy ending. When it feels like I want to give up, I keep telling myself, 'if it's not ok, then it's not the end.'"

He stares in my eyes until he finally makes a move. He quickly leans over, kisses me on the cheek, and goes back to going through the pictures, leaving me wide eyed and speechless while he has a cute smirk on his face.

I smile and shake my head. I hear some yelling and stomping of feet downstairs and I got curious. It looks like Bobby did too because he lead me out the door, slowly moving his way through the hallways with me trailing behind him. Once we got to the main room, we saw many people crowding a person. I saw Scott, Jean, and Storm smiling at me, motioning me to come over.

After the people cleared away, I saw who it was. I stare at the person wide eyed, as they do with me. We make eye contact and at that moment, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I don't even try to hold them back. I run toward the person and jump in their arms.

My dad wraps his arms around my body, pulling my close to him, hugging me tight as he could. I start to sob as my father tries his best to calm me down. He starts to shush me and stroke my hair, whispering soft things in my ear, telling me he was finally home.

I pull away with tears still flowing freely down my face. I smile up at him and grab something around my neck. I raise it up so he can see that I kept my promise. "I did what you told me to do. I protected them. I made sure that I never took them off. Not once."

He smiles back at me and grabs something around his neck. He raises it up so I can see it clearly, the light making it shine even more. "So did I."

I laugh at little and started to cry once more. He sighs but with a small smile and hugs me close again. It feels good to have my dad back home. Our real home. One that has our family in it. One home that we're not leaving.

Scott and Storm told me that the homework wasn't due for a good while now for me so I could have some time with my dad. I look over to Bobby, not wanting to blow him off. He smiles and shakes his head, understandingly. "Go ahead, Kitten. You need this time. I'll catch up with ya later. I gotta make sure John hasn't burnt anything yet."

We both smirk at each other, knowing well enough that he already has destroyed something today. I drag my dad upstairs and into my room. I realize there were still many pictures all over my bed and I start to clean them up. My dad bends down and picks one up and turns to me before looking at it. "Why do you have so many pictures, Kid?"

I'll admit it felt great to hear him call me that again. I see him stare at the photo and make no move to put it back. I got curious and walk over to him to see what the photo was. It was an old photo. Back in the days when mom was alive. There stood dad, tall as ever, with me on his shoulders about three or four years old. He was helping me stay up, making sure I didn't fall off while his other arm was around my mother's shoulders.

We were all smiling, like a happy family. My eyes turn blue and I see my dad's eyes are swimming with tears but he doesn't let any of them fall. We both sit on my bed, me leaning into my dad and his arm around my shoulders, looking at the picture, thinking back on the memories.

We were in silence but then my dad spoke. "I feel like I should hate her. But I can't."

He was talking about my mother. I look up at him with this weird expression. "Why would you hate her? And why can't you hate her?"

My father sighs as he look me in the eye. "Because…she took you away from me. Making me believe you were dead, for several months. She made me think you were both dead. I felt like I failed you both. But mostly you. You're my little girl and I'm supposed to protect you at all costs. If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."

He takes a deep breath as I let the tears flow down my already rosy cheeks. "I can't hate her because she gave me you. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have you as my little girl. She gave me you and if I didn't have you then I wouldn't know who or what I am. I'll admit it; you have helped me through this life. Even through the toughest times. I'm thankful for that." He looks me dead in the eyes as he whispers, "I love you, Scout."

I look at my father, shocked. I always knew he loved me but he's never said it out loud. This is the first time he has in years. "I love you too, dad."

He wraps me in a hug as I start to sob. I know I was being a crybaby today but wouldn't you, when you haven't seen you dad in over a year and then he comes home all of a sudden with all this to say? We pull away and my dad gives me this little smirk with one eyebrow raised. "So…it seems like you and that kid Bobby are pretty close, huh?"

My eyes widen as I try to act innocent. "No. No, uh we're just close friends. That's all."

His smirk gets wider as he looks down at me. "Really? 'Cause I heard differently by Storm and Scott."

I face palm and make a mental note to kill Scott later. I can't really do much to Storm but I can definitely do something to Scott for this. I look up at the man I call father and quietly say, "He is most likely, possibly, maybe my boyfriend."

He nods his head slowly as he leans back against the wall. "Well, I better have a talk with him later. Gotta make sure he treats you right."

My head snaps up as I remember what happened three months ago. "Dad! You said you were looking for you brother, Victor, right?" I see him nod; slowly giving me this curious look but I ignore it and continue. "He came after me. Three months ago. Bobby and I were out by the little lake down the hill and he came out from the woods."

He looks at me worriedly and quickly kneels down in front of me, grabbing both my shoulders. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you? Did he say anything? What did he do?"

"No, I'm fine. He might've thrown me against a tree but I'm ok now. He tried to kill Bobby and it looked like he wanted to take me but he didn't get the chance. Bobby and I were fighting him when he went back to the woods. He turned back to us and said to me, 'Better be careful next time, Scout.'"

Dad looked like he wanted to kill something right then and there. I got scared for a minute and hid under my blankets, not knowing if he would throw something or pull out his claws and destroy something. Whatever it was, I didn't want to get hurt.

I didn't hear anything. All I heard was my father's heavy breathing but that stopped when I heard him sigh and sit back down on my bed, next to me. I was still under the blankets when I felt him put a hand on my shoulder. "Scout?" I didn't answer, not knowing if I should. "Kid, look at me." He knew if he called me that name, he would get me to do almost anything. I came up from under my blankets and peeked over the edge.

My dad looked apologetic for once. "I'm sorry I scared ya. I'm just worried about you, that's all. I wasn't here when that happened and you gotta understand what that feels like. Not being there to protect the people you care about when they're in danger."

I nod my head a little, coming up from the blankets and showing my face. "Yeah. I know what that feels like."

"Did he come back? Did anyone else come here, coming after you? Was there any other emergency?"

Again, I shake my head to all the questions. We both sit on my bed, in my room with the silence hanging in the air. It wasn't the awkward kind though. It's the kind when you don't need to say anything and you can just enjoy the other persons company.


	11. Midnight Attack

Our father daughter moment was ruined by Storm barging in. "Guys, we need to leave. Now. There was an attack on the President by a mutant. We need you to watch over the children while we're gone. You're gonna have to stay here this time, Baby Girl."

My dad looks pissed about it but deals with it. "Wait a minute; what did she mean when she said you have to stay here _this time_?"

"Um, well, the answer to that question might be…I might've joined the X-Men."

He stayed silent for a moment until it sunk in. "No. No. No. No. NO! No way! That's too dangerous."

"Aw, come on, dad! You know I can handle myself! You know I can do it. Trust me on this!"

He kept giving me that look at basically said _'Please don't beg. Anything but beg.' _I gave him the puppy eyes and it made him quickly turn around. I got this small smirk on my face and started to pretend to whine like a puppy. "Urg! Fine, just knock it off with the look!"

I smiled and jumped in his arms, thanking him. That night, I kept having bad dreams about some bad memories. I woke up with a start and quietly walked to my dad's room. When I walked in, I saw he was sitting up, leaning over the bed. When I made a small step, the floor creaked a little.

My dad automatically pulled out his claws which made me jump. It was silent, neither of us moving or talking. "Scout." It wasn't a question, more like a statement like he knew it was me. "Come on out, Kid."

I did so and sat next to him on the bed. He threw his arm around me. "Couldn't sleep?" I shake my head and he asks, "Something wrong?"

"No, just had some bad memories, that's all."

I heard him chuckle a little and he stood up. "Me too." I saw he was offering his hand out to me. It took me back to before mom died. I stared at it for a minute until taking it. He brought me up next to him and threw his arm over my shoulders again. We started to walk around a little.

We were passing the kitchen when we saw somebody already there, eating some ice cream. There was Bobby, eating chocolate ice cream. He saw us in the middle of the hallway so I smiled and walked over, sitting next to him. He gave me a smile back and he grabbed a hold of my hand.

We both heard my dad clear his throat, quite loudly. I blush like mad and hear my dad sigh while opening the fridge. "Doesn't anybody sleep around here?"

"Apparently not." Bobby was gonna get a stupid wise ass attitude here in a moment, I could tell by the sound of his voice.

"Got any beer?"

"This is a school."

My dad slowly turns to us and asks, "So that's a no?"

"Yeah, that's a no."

My dad shuts the fridge, disappointed. "Got anything else other than chocolate milk?"

"I think there's some soda in that small cupboard over there." I point over to the corner of the kitchen.

He makes his way over there and grabs a glass of soda. He pops open the lid and was about to drink it before a thought came to his mind. Bobby gets a look on his face when he knows what's coming up. My dad hands the bottle over to Bobby and he just breathes on it, making it ice cold. He gives it back to my dad, with this little smirk on his face.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

My dad sits across from the both of us and starts asking my boyfriend a few questions. "How long you been here?"

"A couple years."

"Your parents just sent you off to a mutant school?"

Bobby doesn't answer for quite a while. I put a comforting hand on his shoulder and rub his arm gently, knowing how touchy he can get when the subject is about his parents. "Actually…my parents think this is a prep school."

My dad doesn't see that it bothers him so he continues. "Oh, I see. Well, I suppose lot of prep schools have their own dorms, campuses—"

"Jets." Bobby cut him off, not wanting to talk about it.

I give my dad _the look _and he finally stops. He jerks his head, motioning me to leave the room. I give him a cautious look but do so. I pretend to leave though, hiding behind the wall. I hear my dad. "So…you and Scout, huh?"

"Yeah." I peek over the wall and see Bobby gets this cute little smile on his face which makes me smile. "I mean, it's not what I would like it to be. We still haven't had our first kiss yet…" even from the back, I can tell my dad was instantly glaring at him which makes Bobby rethink. "…But you know, if she's not ready for that yet, then I won't rush her or anything."

He looks cautiously at my dad, hoping he said the right thing. I see my dad nod his head a little in approval. A few moments later I hear lot of footsteps running this way. I turn away from the boys and look in the direction they were coming from. The second I do, I feel someone yanking my arm back and they cover my mouth, pulling me close to their body.

I realize it was my dad, gently pushing me toward Bobby. He was confused so he spoke loudly, "What is it?"

My dad instantly shushed him. He walked into another room, leaving Bobby and I alone in the kitchen. We hear a chopper off in the distance, coming our way. Bobby gets up and starts to walk toward to window. I quickly grab a hold of his arm, making him stop and turn to me.

"Please. Don't leave me."

He looks into my now white eyes. "Don't worry, Kitten. I won't ever leave you."

He pulls me up with him and we look out the window. We never knew someone was behind us until we heard a little gunshot and my dad attacking them. My hair instantly turned white with my eyes. "You picked the wrong house, bub!"

I realized when I felt strongly about an emotion, my hair turns that color too. I scream and Bobby stepped in front of me, scared himself but protecting me. We hear one of the little girl's siren screams, making the soldier shoot his gun everywhere, almost hitting us. I yell when a bullet shot into one of my arms.

Bobby threw me under the counter, covering me with his body. The bullets were flying everywhere. I felt the blood running down my arm, the pain coming with. The soldier soon had a knife to my dad's throat, nearly killing him. But he quickly pulled out his claws and shoved the soldier against the fridge. He shoved his claws into the man chest, killing him.

He was breathing heavy and quickly turned to us. "You two alright?" only Bobby responded by nodding his head, a little scared of him. "Scout are you alright?" I shake my head instead of nodding. They both quickly come over to me and see my wound. My dad instantly starts to wrap it with a cloth he had.

We heard the choppers right over the mansion when we got up. We were about to head into the hallway when we saw a dozen soldiers out there. My dad shoved Bobby back in the kitchen, next to me. "You two, stay here. And keep her safe."

My body was shaking as he left. Bobby was trying to calm me down when I thought of somebody. Pyro. I couldn't leave my best friend so I got up and ran for the elevator with Bobby following me. "Scout, what are you doing? He said to stay here!"

We both got in and waited until we got upstairs. "We can't leave Pyro can we?" and then realization hits him, knowing one of his best friends might be in trouble.

We made it to the top and saw many people running the opposite direction to where we were going. We went down one hall and right when we turned a corner, I ran into somebody. I looked up and saw Pyro. I quickly jumped in his arms. "Thank god you're ok!"

He lets go of me and both the boys grab my hands. "Come on, we have to get out of here!"

We follow Bobby's instruction but then a window explodes, in front of us. We run the other way as fast as we could. When we get downstairs, we see many dead soldiers. I stare at them, knowing my father has already been there. We were about to make it to another hallways when one of the door banged open and showed four soldiers, pointing guns at us.

Before they even had a chance, we heard my dad yelling from upstairs, jumping down on top of them. He kills them and looks at us. "Let's go."

We follow him and when we finally make it to the secret escape; we three kids go in first. I knew what was going to happen. Right when I turned around, my dad shut the door, keeping himself out. I couldn't help but scream, "Daddy!"

It meant a lot to say that because I never called him that since my mom died. It has always been Dad. We keep running until I couldn't. I stopped the boys. "Wait! Guys, we have to go back! They're gonna kill him. They know how to."

"So what? He can take care of himself. Let's go!" Pyro explained.

I quickly turned to Bobby, pleading him, silently telling him he was my only hope. He looks between Pyro and I, wondering who he should go with. I had tears in my eyes, hoping he will stand by me. He gives me one final look until he runs toward the way we came, helping me save my dad.

We get there and open the door. I see the man Stryker, the man who killed my mom. I was behind Bobby as he made an ice wall between Stryker and my dad. "Dad, come on! Let's go!"

"Go! I'll be fine!"

"But we won't! Daddy, please!"

He turns to me, thinking back on that promise he made to me. he knows I only call him that when it's important and or I'm truly scared. He hesitates, looking back toward where Stryker was until finally rushing toward us. "Go. Keep going!" he runs inside the small entrance with us, closing the door.

Pyro waited up a head. The four of us ran toward the exit, thinking we would make it out of here. We end up in the garage and we go into a random blue car. Dad started trying to hot wire it while Bobby stated, "This is Cyclops' car."

Dad and I both turn to each other, smirking. "Oh yeah?" my dad gets out one claw and starts the car. We race out of the building and onto the main road. We were both pretty tense after that encounter and Pyro spoke up form the back. "The hell was that back there?"

I look at my dad, waiting for him to respond. "Stryker. His name is Stryker."

"And who the hell is that?" Pyro pushes.

I answer instead of my dad this time. "A foul man who killed my mom and tried to kill my dad but instead he ended up wiping his memory."

I hold back the tears as my dad turns to me. He was driving fast but he still managed to do it with one hand while his other hand grabbed a hold of mine. It was silent for a while until Pyro came up with us and tried to turn on the radio. "I don't like uncomfortable silences."

Some of the worst music came on that made the four of us all cringe at the sound of it. He tried to turn it off but the radio disappeared and came out one of the X-Men tools. "I don't think that's a CD player."

My dad grabbed it and tried to work it. He realized Pyro was still out of his seat. "Sit back." I think he was remembering the time when we got into a car accident and how we ended up at the mansion.

"Where we going?"

"Storm and Jean are in Boston. We'll head that way. They'll know what to do."

I turned around to face Bobby as we shared the same look. "My parents live in Boston."

"Good." My dad spoke with no care in his voice.

For a few hours, the three of us kids slept most of the time while my dad drove. I was tired but I didn't want to go to sleep. My dad convinced me to sleep on the way there, saying I'll need my strength if we end up in another kind of situation like the one we just got out of.

We got to Bobby's parent house in the early morning. At first we didn't know if we should knock or not but Bobby just walked right in. He called for his parents and his little brother but nobody answered. He turned to Pyro and me and said, "I'll try to find you some clothes. Don't burn anything."

I was in his room waiting. I didn't feel him approach me so when he spoke, I jumped. "Hey. Found some of my mom's old clothes. I think they're from before I was born."

I picked them up and looked at them. We turned around so our backs were facing each other so I could get dressed. I got into the clothes he brought me and when I was done, I saw he was still in the room, still turned around. I laid my hand on his shoulder and gently smiled at him.


	12. Not Letting Go

Bobby and I stared in each other's eyes for a long time. I got lost in his bright blue eyes and he did so in my dark brown ones. We started leaning in and when we met in the middle, we kissed. It wasn't long but it felt like an eternity. After a minute, we pulled away and stared at one another again. We smiled and whispered at the same time, "Wow."

We heard a door open and new voices came in. Our eyes went wide and we ran downstairs. I saw my dad staring at three people. He pointed his finger at Bobby, not saying anything, being confused as all hell. I stayed on the steps as Bobby was met with his parents and his younger brother.

"Honey, aren't you supposed to be in school?" his mother's voice made me sick.

"Uh…This is Professor Logan. There's something I need to tell you." How he said 'Professor Logan' made me want to laugh. It just didn't sound right.

We all sat down in the living room. We were all in different places. My dad was pacing around the room, Pyro was in the corner playing with his lighter, his parents and brother sat next to each other, and Bobby and I sat next to each other. It was silent, letting them take it all in, finding out their son was a mutant.

"So, uh, when did you first know you were a…" his mother couldn't get the word out of her mouth.

Pyro and I said at the same time. "A mutant."

His mother glared at me and looked a little fearfully at Pyro as she requested, "Would you please cut that out."

His father spoke up for the first time. "What you have to understand is we thought Bobby was going to a school for the gifted."

"Bobby is gifted!" I yelled, having my eyes turn red with little streaks of red in my hair.

He smiles at me as he takes a hold of my hands whispering, "Calm down. It's ok."

"We still love you Bobby. It's just this mutant problem is a little…" his mom trials off again.

My dad's head snaps up hearing that. "What mutant problem?"

"…complicated." She finishes, scared of my dad.

"What exactly are you a professor of, Logan?" his father questions.

"Art." Pyro and I look at each other, trying not to laugh.

I compose myself as I state, "You should see what Bobby can do."

His mom was drinking some coffee and then Bobby froze it. "I can do a lot more than that." His voice came out proud with a smirk on his face.

His mom dropped the plate and the coffee on the table, as if she was scared of it. Pyro couldn't help but chuckle in the corner. His little brother gets pissed off and runs up to his room. The rest of the family suddenly was saddened by that but I'm not sure why.

All of a sudden we hear beeping and it was coming from my dad. I stare at him as he stares at me. Realization hits him as he grabs the X-Men communicator. "Oh uh, that's for me." and he walks out of the room.

Bobby turns back to his parents and sighs. His mother just doesn't understand. "Have you tried…not being a mutant?"

I was about to yell at her again when my dad walks back in the room. "We have to go, now. Now!"

I tried asking him what's wrong but he never answered me. We follow him to the front of the house and outside. He pulled out his claws and we saw dozens of policemen surrounding the house. "Drop the knives and put your hands in the air."

We realize that Ronny called the cops on us. "I said drop the knives. Put the knives down!"

My dad turns to him and snaps, "I _can't_. Look." He raised his hand to show the officer but all he did was shoot him in the head. He dropped to the ground like a rock.

I immediately got tears in my eyes knowing that was what made him loose him memory the last time. He wasn't moving and he wasn't healing at all yet. That made me scared even more. We were ordered to get down on the ground and as we did so, Bobby looks over at me worriedly, knowing I don't cry.

Pyro wouldn't do as told and he took out his lighter. "You know all those dangerous mutants you hear about on the news….I'm the worst one."

I started to beg him not to, knowing what he was going to do. He started throwing fire like nobody's business. He was killing officers, blowing up police cars, and set fire to many bushes. More cops arrived but he just blew them up too. Before anything else could be done, a jet came by. I smile when I see my dad stand up, cranking his neck like he always does, and running towards the jet.

It landed in front of the house. We all ran to the jet and got inside. There, we were met with another mutant, one I've never seen before. We all sat down in the order; I, dad, Bobby, and Pyro. Dad just stared at the new guy. "Who the hell is this?"

"Kurt Vanger." He had a Germany accent. "But at the circus, I was known as the Incredible Nightcrawler!"

"Ah, save it. Storm." My dad ordered.

We took off and when I turned around, I saw my boyfriend staring out the window. "Bobby?" his head snaps up towards me as I asked, "You doing ok?"

He doesn't speak; all he does is nod his head and turns back to the window. I turn back around and face the front. My dad gets out of his seat when it's safe to walk around. I get up and sit next to Bobby. "How far are we?"

Jean answers as she was navigating. "Not far. We're actually coming up to the mansion now."

"I got two signals approaching." Storm announces. We all turn to her as she continues. "Coming in fast."

We were ordered to lower to the ground and respond in ten seconds. Storm said she thought somebody was angry. My dad spoke up and said, "Yeah, I wonder why…" he stared right at Pyro who was next to him. He tried his best to look innocent.

When we didn't lower the jet they went behind and marked us. Storm told us all to hang on. Storm made the jet spin around and did a three sixty. Pyro told her to never do that again and my dad agreed. I saw everyone was strapped in but mine wouldn't work. My hands kept slipping and they wouldn't tie together.

I started panicking as I saw that there was a missile coming toward our back end. Jean was able to get rid of one of them. She couldn't stop the other so my dad started yelling for me to use a force field around the jet. I tried my best but I wasn't as advanced to protect something so big.

The missile hit and blew up our back end. I flew out of my seat, screaming for my dad. He undid his seatbelt and jumped up to grab me. He grabbed a hold of my arm and jabbed one of his claws into the floor of the jet, pulling me close to his body. I wrapped my arms around him and I heard Bobby scream my name.

We were dropping fast and the louder I screamed, the tighter the hold my dad got. The back of the jet got put back together as we were falling. Storm thought it was Jean but it wasn't. The jet stopped at a sudden halt and we all jerked.

My dad never let go of me but his grip loosened when we went to see what had stopped us. In the front of the jet was Magneto. My eyes go wide when I remember what he tried to do to me a year ago.

That night my dad didn't let me near him and said only the adults could be in on this conversation. Bobby, Pyro, and I were walking around. I started lagging behind them when I got tired and felt like my legs couldn't hold me up any longer. My knees hit the ground as I gave out a small cry. The boys quickly turned around and Bobby picked me up in his arms. We started to head back to the ship, thinking that was where I could rest and where I would be better protected.

When we got there, the boys walked up the steps and laid me down on one of the seats since there was no bed. I was about to object to staying in here but Pyro kept me quiet. "Shut up. You need to sleep. You've had a long day."

I was about to talk again when Bobby cut me off. "No, John's right. You need rest." I look at him, silently telling him I didn't want to be alone. He just smiled at me and put a hand over mine. "Don't worry. I'll be right here when you wake up. I'm not going anywhere."

And with that, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in a tent, under a sleeping bag. I looked over and saw Pyro on one side and Bobby on the other. Pyro was fast asleep but not Bobby. It looked like he kept switching sides, getting irritated.

"Hey. You ok?" my voice made him jump as he quickly turned to face me.

He gently smiled at me when we saw I was awake. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm ok. How 'bout you?"

"I'm fine. How long was I out?"

"About an hour or so." We were both whispering. We didn't know why but it felt like we had to whisper and besides, we didn't want to wake Pyro.

"How you holding up? With your parents and everything?"

"Fine. They're not really the most important people in my life anymore. I just wanted to see if they would accept me and now I know they don't. How about you, you've been through a lot lately?"

"Don't worry about me."

"Telling me not to worry about you is like telling your dad he can't have any more beer or cigars." We both laugh out loud, knowing it was true.

He moves his arm over so he puts his hand on my shoulder. He rubs the spot where the bullet hit. I can't help but flinch and hiss in pain. He automatically lets go, apologizing. I kept trying to tell him that it was fine, he forgot.

"Bobby?"

"Hmm?" he mumbles, stuffing his face under his pillow.

"…Is there anything going on between you and that girl, Kitty? I've noticed that she's been trying to be around you a lot more lately."

His head pops right up as he stares in my blue eyes that have little purple specks in them. "No. I promise there's nothing going on. You're the only one I want to be with. Besides, I can never let a girl like you slip away from me."

I smile, hearing the sincerity in his voice. "Even when we're in a battle? Between life and death?"

"I would rather die than see you being taken away from me." Right after he said that, I let out a small sob and jump over to him. I wrap my arms around him and hug him tight. He was shocked at first but still wrapped an arm around my waist. He leaned back and kissed me.

When we pulled away and I saw that my breath turned to ice, like it was winter. We both chuckled a little. That night we were in our own sleeping bags but we were still next to each other with his arm around me, protectively.


	13. Alkali Lake

The next morning, the jet was ready again and we took off. We had to take Magneto and Mystique with us. I don't know why but I didn't ask questions. Bobby and I were staring at one of the X-Men suits. Bobby spoke up. "Why don't we get uniforms?"

"Yeah, where's ours?" Pyro spoke up. "Look at Doll over there. She has a uniform."

"They're an order. Should arrive in a few years. And the only reason why my daughter is on the team is because she's knows how to fight. She's been doing it her whole life."

He left the room and that meant Pyro, Bobby, and I were stuck in a room with Mystique and Magneto. They turn to me and say, "You may want to practice more with that force field."

My hair burst into flames as do my eyes. I start to walk over to them but Bobby held me back. He starts to whisper calming things in my ear and uses his power to reduce my flaming hair. We sit down in another room and wait until we arrive at the island.

We made it there and we were discussing the plan. We didn't know who would go and we tried to get Kurt to go in but he said he would have to see where he is going for him to teleport; otherwise he would end up in a wall. We were thinking about who could go until a voice spoke out. "I'll go! I have a hunch he'll want me alive."

I started shaking my head and Magneto disagreed. "Wolverine! Whoever goes into the dam needs to be able to operate the spillway mechanism. **What do you intend to do? **Scratch it with your claws?"

"I'll take my chances."

"But I won't!" I speak up. "I'm not letting you go in there alone. If you go, I go. That man is the reason why…"I trail off, unable to finish the sentence.

My dad makes his way toward me and wraps his arms around me. He knows what I was going through because he felt the same pain. Losing someone you cared for deeply. Magneto agreed with me and we all decided that Mystique would go in, disguised as my dad.

We waited for her to give the signal that she was in. Once we got it, my dad admitted, "She's good."

She soon got the spillway door opened and Storm made sure that they lost power from an 'electrical storm'. Everyone said we all had to stay in the jet, saying it was too dangerous. I tried to convince my dad to let me come but he didn't cave in. I think that was the first time he really said no to me.

Pyro was playing with the fire while I was watching what was going on with them. Bobby was sitting silently next to me. I saw that they were all in the room where Mystique was but I saw someone walking out of the room. The next moment I heard Storm in the mic. "Scout, Logan left. Can you tell us where he is?"

"Yeah, I can try." I start looking all around the small map and my eyes go wide when I realize what he's doing. "Storm, please get to him fast! He's going for Stryker!"

"Don't worry, Baby Girl. We'll get there as soon as we can."

The whole time I kept my eye on my dad but someone's voice got my attention. "Scout! I found Scott! He's being forced to attack us. He doesn't know what he's doing!"

My eyes widen when I realize Scott can be in major trouble. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to go after him but it felt like I had to go with my dad. I just sunk down in my seat and tried to control my breathing. The boys were trying to comfort me but I ignored them and held on tightly to the dog tags I never gave back.

I saw something break on the spillway. It looked like one of the pipes and I knew it would end up flooding the place. I knew I couldn't warn my dad but I still had to warn the others. "Guys, get outta there! The whole place is going to flood!"

"Got it! We still have to get the kids out! We'll be right out when we do!" Storm's reply came.

"I'm sorry! That was my fault. Scott didn't know what he was doing and I had to do something!" Jean voice came out.

"Scott! Jean is he ok?"

"I'll let you talk to him." I heard some shuffling on the other end and I heard the voice I haven't heard in days. "Angel? Is that you?"

"Yea, it's me. How you doing?"

"I'm fine. Just had a little trouble. What about you? Are you ok?"

"…I've been better."

"Angel. What happened?"

"Listen I'll tell you later, just focus on getting back to the jet before it all floods."

We stayed silent for a moment until Pyro got up and grabbed his jacket. He opened the door and started to walk out. "That's it. I'm sick of this kid's table shit, I'm going in there."

"Pyro, they told us to stay in here! It's too dangerous."

He quickly turns to me. "The hell's the matter with you? I can't remember a time when the great Wolverine's daughter backed out of something. The real Scout would jump right in and do anything to save her dad. Where's that girl? Huh? Where's that girl, Doll?"

I put my head down, not saying anything. He just scoffs and shakes his head. "Well, I guess that answers that now, doesn't it?" With that he walked out.

We watch him as he walks away from us. I hold back the tears, knowing that I just lost one of my best friends. What he said really hit me and I turned around to face the controls of the jet. I went toward the front of the jet and started setting everything up.

Before anything else could happen, something was in my head. In all our heads. We couldn't think, all we could do was yell out from the pain. Bobby and I dropped to the floor, clutching each other's hands. He held mine tightly, letting me know he was right there with me as we cried out.

It stopped as soon as it had started. We were both breathing heavy and before I could move, Bobby pulled me in a hug. "Are you alright, Kitten?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah."

We were both shaking when we pulled away. I started to start up the engine ad put on the seat belt. "Scout, what are you doing?"

"We'll die if we stay here! So will the others! We can at least try!"

I got the jet off the ground and I had Bobby be the spotter while I was trying to control it. After a minute I heard him yell, "There! I see them!"

"Bobby, help! I can't control it!"

He jumped over to my side and we tried to lower it in front of everybody. Instead we crashed a good 50 yards away from them. I couldn't help but let out a scream and my body was shaking. Bobby turned to me and kissed me on the cheek. "You did good. That was pretty brave."

I turned to him and saw he had the cute smile he gave me when we first met. I smiled back but only a small bit. I opened the door and ran down the ramp. The first person I ran to was Scott. I jumped in his arms and he hugged me tightly. "Thank god you're ok. What the hell were you thinking, huh, Angel? You could've killed yourself!"

"We all would be dead if I didn't do anything!" Before I let him say anything else, I ran up the hill where my dad was.

He was looking off in the distance, to his side. I saw him start to walk away when he saw me. He paused and let me catch up to him. He didn't let me do anything; all he had me do was follow him. I didn't know where we were going but as we were walking, I gave him back his dog tags.

When we get to the spot where he wanted to be, I saw Stryker tied up in chains against a walls. "Who has the answers Wolverine? Those people? That creature you call a daughter? Huh?"

My dad grabbed his dog tags and threw them on the ground at Stryker's feet. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him. "I'll take my chances with my little girl."

He turns me around and we walk away, back to the jet. We ran up the ramp, to see everyone seated, ready for takeoff. He let me go and jerked his head towards Bobby's direction. I nod my head at him and sit next to my boyfriend. "Are you alright?"

I look at him and give him a real smile. "I am now."

Everyone was trying to get the jet started back up but it wouldn't work. Bobby couldn't help but ask them, "Has anyone seen John?"

"Pyro? Where is he?" My dad looked at Jean for an answer but all she gave us was, "He's with Magneto."

I saw Jean stand up and get this look in her eye. She looked back at Scott and made her way to the door. I stood up and ran towards her. I hugged her, knowing what she was going to do. We might not have been close but we were still part of the same family. She hugged me back and whispered, "You need to stay strong. Take care of your dad. He's going to need you. So is Scott, Bobby, and everyone. Never lose hope." And with that, she walked out.

Soon everyone realized what was happening and tried to stop her. She wouldn't let anyone outside to get her and she was controlling the jet. She lifted it up and soon, she let the water take her. Scott started to cry, nobody saying anything. My dad kept repeating that she was gone with tears in his eyes. That same look he had when my mom died.

We got back to the mansion and it seemed like everything went back to normal. But it didn't. One of my best friends left us. I was quieter around people. I was myself only around four people; Bobby, Scott, Storm, and my dad. I depended more on those four people than anyone else. We lost one of our professors. Scott was a lot quieter too.


	14. Jean

It's been a few months since Jean has died. Everyone has been doing ok now except Scott. Anytime I see him, he seems sad and depressed. My dad has gotten very protective lately. We're ok and it seems like we've gotten closer.

But right now, we were in a battle. I was behind a small wall when I saw something come flying at me. I braced myself for the impact while I put up my force field. Over the few months, Scott and my dad and even Storm have wanted me to know how to make a large force field around almost anything.

It hit my body and made me crash to the ground. It bounced back up and when I looked, I saw it hit my dad right in the face who was standing over me. I made a face, knowing that had to hurt, even him. He healed in seconds and turned to me as I stared at him when an explosion went off in the distance. "The whole world's going to hell and you're just gonna sit there? Let's go."

I ran and saw Bobby stop a missile from hitting him, landing at his feet, frozen. But then another coming and I yelled his name. I threw a force field around him and the missile exploded. When the smoke cleared, I saw him standing there, looking for me. When he did, he smiled and ran over to me and wrapped me in his arms. "Thanks, Kitten."

I looked off in the distance and saw my father trying to light a cigar from a small fire on an object. I just rolled my eyes, knowing he was going to lose it and get pissed off. I was right when I saw him walking in the middle of the battle field. He told Colossus to throw him so he could take out the machine.

"Damn it, Logan. Don't do this. We work as a team." Storm cried out.

He ignored her and when the machine's head landed in front of us and he came out from behind it, he said, "Class dismissed."

Storm just rolled her eyes as we all walked out of the Danger Room. They started arguing about us needing to know about self defense. We kept walking, ignoring them and we walked up stairs. Bobby followed me up to my room after we got out of our uniforms.

We finally got on the team. Well, Bobby did since I was already on it, but we both got our mutant names too. Bobby was known was Iceman and I was known as Renegade. I might've had other powers but everyone seemed to say Renegade fit since I _was_ the Wolverine's daughter. We were both pretty wild and we couldn't disagree with that one.

We were both lying in my bed, just relaxing and listening to the radio. They just announced that the government has found a cure for mutants. A cure for us to become like normal people. When some music came on, Bobby had his arms around my waist and I had mine on his shoulders.

All of a sudden, my door banged open and my dad was there. He looked serious and I could tell we were going somewhere. "We got a mission. Keep your hands off my daughter and let's go."

We all get on the jet in our uniforms and head up to Alkali Lake. They wouldn't tell us what was going on, only that the Professor felt something happen there. When we finally landed, Storm opened the door and we all walked out. It was foggy so we could hardly see anything next to us.

"You don't wanna be here." Storm acknowledged.

"Do you?" my dad shot back.

We started walking around, trying to find anything unusual. I started to feel the presence of someone else being here. And it wasn't just the four of us. There was another person. "Guys someone else is here."

My dad turned around to face me. "You sure, Kid?"

I nod my head, not looking at him. "I can feel it."

We all start looking around to find where that person would be but we couldn't. Dad was getting pissed. "Can't see a damn thing."

"I can take care of that." Storm's eyes turn white as she clears the fog.

When we can see, we see many things floating in midair. A rock floats in front of my dad's face and he just pokes it away. Storm walks in another area, looking for clues as my dad was just absorbing where we were. I felt Bobby jab my ribs and when I turn to glare at him, he just point off in the distance.

When I follow his eyes, I see something that shocked me like a lightning bolt would. There, floating in midair, I saw Scott's red pair of sunglasses. I run over to them and pick them up, gently. The boys follow me and they both examine it, seeing if it really was Scott's.

Off in the distance, we hear Storms scared voice. "Logan!"

We run to where she was and we saw the person who I felt earlier. There was Jean, lying unconscious on the rocks. Storm looks up at us. "She's still alive."

I look over at my dad as he stares at her and whispers, "Jean?" at that moment, I knew we were going to be in some serious trouble.

Bobby grabbed my arm and pulled me back to the jet. He didn't need to say thing to let me know he was there. He just sat next to me with his arm over my shoulder, rubbing my arm gently as I rested my head on his shoulder. We got Jean in the jet and headed back to the mansion.

When we got there, my dad took her to the Professor while Bobby and I went back up to my room. We just had the music playing in the background as we were messing around. He was helping me get my mind off everything. Bobby was throwing some chunks of ice or anything with ice at me while I was blocking it. Sometimes I would throw a book at him and he would give me a _'Really?_' look.

The next day, I was in the kitchen eating lunch when my dad came in. the look on his face told me something wasn't good. He sat across from me and took my small hands in his. "Kid…the Professor, Storm and I…we got a mission to go on and we agreed you guys shouldn't come along on this one. We have to go after Jean and it's too dangerous."

I didn't really know how to respond. I knew something like this would happen one day, just not today. I look at him and stare in the same eyes he had given me. "Alright, but just promise you'll be back safe, ok? I don't wanna find any scratch, bruise, o-you know what never mind about that. I forgot you heal so screw that. Just promise that you'll come back alive."

"I promise. And I trust you to watch over the mansion while we're gone. It might take us a day or just a few hours and I know that's not long but you remember what happened the last time the mansion was attacked."

"You trust me with something this big?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't trust anyone else." I could tell he wasn't lying in the slightest bit. I got up from my seat and hugged him around the waist as he wrapped his arms around my shoulder.

"Ok. Love you, Dad. Stay safe."

"Love you too, Kid. You know I don't get hurt. Other people do."

He smirks and leaves the mansion with Storm and the Professor. Bobby stayed with me and we kept the children entertained. It was a happy day until they came home hours later. When they walked in the door, it was only Storm and my dad.

I was confused at what happened in those short hours but when we all heard that the Professor was dead, it seemed like the mansion itself was dead. There were no sounds at all. No footsteps, no laughter, no yelling, no music, no crashing, no people. Everyone was in there room, sulking all alone, not knowing what to do.

It was like that for weeks even after the funeral. It seemed worse for me because that same week, I lost my older brother Scott. Storm was the one who took care of the funeral. We set his headstone in the garden.

"We live in an age of darkness. A world full of fear, hate, and tolerance. But in the end every age, there are those who fight against it. Charles Xavier was born to a world divided. A world he tried to heal. **A mission he never saw accomplished. **It seems the destiny of great men to see their goaIs unfuIfiIIed. CharIes was more than a Ieader, more than a teacher. He was a friend."

As Storm talked, I looked up and saw my father on the top of the hill, watching us. He had his arms folded across his chest. It seemed like we made eye contact because I saw him look at me and give me a small smile. One I haven't seen in days.

"When we were afraid, he gave us strength. And when we were aIone, he gave us a famiIy. He may be gone, but his teachings Iive on through us, his students. Wherever we may go, we must carry on his that's a vision of a worId united."

I was close to tears by then and Bobby grabbed a hold of my hand, guiding my head to lean on his shoulder. I looked up and saw my dad turning away to leave. We all stood up; ready to leave when I walked up to the stone. I placed a single red rose in front of it, next to the burning fire.

That night, I was lying in my bed, hugging a pillow tight to my chest as I cried. I heard a knock on my door and I quickly tired to wipe my tears away before someone entered my room and sat next to me. When I look up, I see my boyfriend, Bobby.

He gives me a sad smile before pulling me into his arms. "How are ya holding up, Kitten?"

"…I could be better."

He smiles a bit and slowly lets go. He jerks his head toward the door."Come on. I wanna show you something."

"But Storm and my dad said to stay in our rooms."

"Don't worry, we won't get caught. And besides, you daddy's little girl. You have him wrapped around you finger."


	15. Iceman and the Battle

** I grab my jacket and gloves and so does he. He leads me outside and down the hill, near where we had our first date. We stop at a large fountain. He turns to me with his hand right above the water. "Have you ever been skating before?"**

** "Yea, but when I was little, like ten years old. Why?"**

** He doesn't answer my question but he touches the water and it freezes over. I turn to him and realize what he was planning. "Ok, Mr. Iceman, now tell me. How are we supposed to go skating when we don't have any skates?"**

** "Do you doubt me, Miss. Renegade? Follow me." he leads me over to a bench and he makes my shoes turn into skates. I look in amazement as he does the same with his own shoes.**

** He helps me up and we start skating around. I kept falling a few times and he just kept laughing at me. Soon enough, he offered me his hand and while he skated, I just held on, letting him drag me along. Bobby was about to spin me when I slipped. He tried to catch me but when he slipped doing so. We both ended up falling, him on his back and my in his arms.**

** We couldn't help but laugh out loud, not caring if anyone heard us. He helped me back up even though he stood a good six inches above me. We stared in each other's eyes as he brushed some hair out of my face. "There. Now I don't see any more blue or red or even orange in your eyes anymore."**

"What color are they then?"

"They're my favorite color of eyes. Especially on a girl like you. Dark brown eyes where you can see the pain they've been through but you still see them smiling every day, like nothing has affected them. It shows how strong you are."

I didn't know what to say. I tried to give him a kiss on the cheek but since I was so short, I could even do it if I stood on my tippy toes. He just laughed and when he lifted me up, I couldn't help but squeak in surprise. That made him laugh harder and almost drop me on the ice. Once he calmed down, he sunk to my level and kissed me.

When we were done skating, we went back to the mansion but now before unfreezing the fountain. The next morning we were all in a lounge in silence. When I say all, I mean dad, me, Bobby, Storm, and Hank.

Everyone was sitting down one their own chair except my dad who was standing and I was lying down on the couch, playing with my mom's necklace my dad gave back to me not to long ago. We seemed so lost and Bobby asked the question we've all been thinking. "So what now? What do we do?"

"Xavier started this school. Perhaps it's best that it ends with him. We'll tell the students that they're going home." Hank suggested.

Bobby and I share a look before he says, "Most of us don't have anywhere to go. I can't believe this. I can't believe that we're not going to fight for this school."

It looked like Storm was about to say something but a man came in the room. "I'm sorry. I know this is a bad time. I was told that this is a safe place for mutants."

"It was."

Storm thought for a minute before speaking. "And it still is. We'll find you a room. Hank, tell all the students the school stays open."

A few hours after that, I walked into my dad's room only to find him packing a bag. "Where are you going?"

"Storm, I really don't need a lecture ri- Scout. Look, Kid..."

"You're going after her aren't you? You're going after Jean?"

"You wouldn't understand. The real Jean is still there, she's just a little lost."

"No she's not. She's gone!"

"Don't say that! She's not gone." My dad practically growled when he shoved me against the door. When he saw my wide eyes were filled with fear, he let go and walked away from me, sitting on his bed.

I didn't know what else to say and I didn't want to upset him more so I just left. I walked out of the room and went to see Storm. I found her in the kitchen, drinking some coffee. I sat next to her and started out with, "Storm I need to talk to you. It's important."

"Sure, Baby Girl. What do you need to talk about?"

"My dad's going after Jean. He thinks she's still good and he's going after her."

"What? Alright I'll go talk to him."

"No! Storm he's already in a bad mood!" it was no use. She had already walked out of the room.

He ended up leaving, without saying anything. I stayed in my room the entire day and night. People have been trying to get me to come out but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It wasn't until the next day evening when someone actually opened my door.

I didn't move or say anything. I pretended that I was asleep but it didn't work. The person sat on the edge of my bed and took a deep breath. "Kid, I need your help. I already got Hank, Storm, and Colossus with me. I just need you and Bobby. And he won't go unless you go. And I definitely need you there. I need you there, by my side. Just like you've always been."

"How bad do you need me?"

"Bad enough to tell everyone downstairs that I need help. I would even let Storm strike me with lightning if it meant you would come with us."

I felt the corners of my mouth curl into a small smile and I tried not to laugh. I agreed only because I really didn't want him to get Storm to strike him with lightning. We were all waiting for him at the jet, all in our uniform. Before we went anywhere Bobby pointed out, "But Logan, there's only six of us."

He looks all around us, not knowing what to say. When he speaks, he looks between me and Bobby the whole time. "Yeah. We're outnumbered. I'm not gonna lie to ya. But we lost Scott. We lost the Professor. If we don't fight now, everything they stood for will die with them. I'm not gonna let that happen. Are you?"

Tears came to my eyes as I shook my head no. "Then we stand together. X-Men. All of us."

I nod my head, not wanting to speak. I look at Bobby and saw he had tears in his eyes but wouldn't let them fall. "Alright."

"Then let's go." my dad nodded his head at him and we all turned to leave.

We all boarded the jet and took off. It was an intense ride. We all knew if something went wrong, we could all die. We could all die even if everything went right. I was sitting across from Bobby and Storm and Logan sat at the controls.

We were all lost in our own thoughts when I felt a hand on mine. I look over and saw Bobby. I saw he had tears in his eyes and he was looking straight in my eyes. "Scout, I want you to know something. In case we don't make it. We've only known each other for almost three years now. But I can't go in this battle without telling you. I love you."

I stared in his eyes as he said this. I had tears in mine as I knew what he said, he meant. I nod my head a little and give his hand a small squeeze. "I love you too."

We kept flying for at least another hour, both of us holding each other's hand, giving one another a squeeze once in a while, letting us know we were here for each other. Once we land, we take our time getting ready. Storm heads out first, letting lightning strike the enemies. Then Hank jumped down.

Next was Bobby and I. We looked at each other and before anything else; he pulled me in for a kiss. He didn't give me a chance to respond when he pulled away, wrapped me in his arms, and jumped. I held on tightly to his waist as we soared through the air.

Instead of landing on our feet and breaking them, Bobby made an ice ramp so we slip down and landed in the middle of a circle of soldiers. We saw Colossus jump and run. Lastly, I saw my dad make his way down. We all got into a line like we planned. First it was Hank, Storm, dad, me, Bobby, and then Colossus.

As he ran next to me I heard him yell, "Everybody get together! And hold this line!"

I look over at him and give him a slight nod, telling him I will stay by his side throughout this battle. He gave me a slight nod back, telling me that same thing. We all faced forward and Bobby entangled our hands together, holding my small one tightly in his larger one.

We heard Magneto yell "Finish them!" and everyone charged at us. We all got into positions, ready to take on whatever was going to be given to us. After that, we all got in our own battle.

Some larger men tried charging at me but I put up a force field that made them go flying back. One mutant came at me with something coming out of his hands. I froze it and he just looked at me, confused. I had that famous Howlett trademark smirk on my face and teased, "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you trying to do something?"

I would've done more but something came up behind me and threw me on the ground. I looked up and saw a guy that was barely taller than me that looked a little too cocky. "Don't you know it's not nice to hit girls?"

I raised my first but instead I kneed him right where it counts. As he dropped like a rock I couldn't help but laugh, "That'll teach you not to mess with the Wolverine's daughter. Also known as Renegade!"

The next thing I know, there were cars on fire that were falling. I heard my dad demand to take cover. I was about to run where he was when my foot got stuck. It was in a hole and there was some metal over it. When I looked up, I saw a car coming right above me. I waited for the impact but it didn't come.

I heard my dad and Bobby screaming my name as if their lives depended on it. When I looked again, I saw a huge red beam blast it away from me. I didn't have time to find the source of the beam because it came to me.

The thing tried to get me out of the hole I was stuck in. They saw that the metal was holding me back so it blasted the metal into ashes with the same kind of red beam, just smaller. They picked me up in their arms and started running for cover.

I saw another car coming for us and when I screamed, the person ran even faster and tightened their grip on me. I thought it was going to crush us when the person dove behind a wall. When I heard the crunching noise of the car landing, the person covered my body by throwing themselves over me.

I kept hearing Bobby and my dad screaming my name, sounding desperate. I felt my whole body shaking as I looked up. When I was met with a pair of red visors and a face I thought was gone from my life, I nearly cried. The older brother I thought that was dead was standing right in front of me and he just saved my life.


	16. Alive and Ok

Scott pulled me in for a tight hug, calming me down. "What the hell were you thinking, huh, Angel? Why didn't you use your force field?"

He talked in such a gentle and soft tone it made me want to cry more. "I don't know. I was scared and I panicked. I didn't know what to do, I was stuck." I took another look at him and jumped in his arms once more. "I thought you were dead! We found your glasses and Jean said she killed you. I thought you were gone!"

He hugged me tighter to him, stroking my hair as I took deep breaths. "I'm not gone. I'm right here. I'll always be right here for you. You don't have to worry about that. I'm right here."

When I remembered we were still in a battle, I pulled myself back together. We both pulled away, slowly, not wanting to let the other one go. We look over to our side and see my dad and Bobby staring our way with worried looks. We both nodded at the, letting them know we're ok. They nod back, for a response.

I didn't know what they were planning over there but I saw my dad staring at some left over needles from the cure and saw him talking to Storm. I heard him yell, "Bobby, think you can take out your old friend?"

I see him nod and head Pyro's way, who was the one who was setting the cars on fire. I saw him freeze a fire car coming his way. Like the way he did with the missile in the Danger Room. My dad turns to me and yells, "Scout! If you feel like anything is gonna go wrong, come find us. You got that, Kid?"

"Yeah! I got it."

Everyone split up and ran in their directions. Scott stayed by my side but the whole time, I was watching Bobby and Pyro battle. I knew it would be hard for him to battle an old friend who he cared about in the past. I watched him struggle more and more and when Pyro sent a huge blast of fire his way, I jumped into action.

I heard Scott calling my name but I ignored him. I ran over to the two boys who used to be best friends and tried to help. I went over and tried to freeze Pyro's fire just long enough for Bobby to regain some of his strength. It wasn't the Pyro we used to know. He looked at me with this wild look in his eyes. "Wrong move, Doll."

He blasted fire at me which caused my body to bang into a brick wall that was behind me. I hit my head and immediately knew that was a stupid move. I felt like I was gonna pass out at any second but I tried my best to stay awake for Bobby's sake.

He looked at me and I saw him get more pissed than I've ever seen before. Pyro was getting closer to him and when he was right in front of him, Bobby knelt down, trying to get some of his strength back. I yelled his named with as much power in my body I had left. I saw him stand up and he was covered in ice. Like he was made out of ice.

He banged his head against Pyro's, knocking him out. He turned back to his normal self as he ran my way as fast as he could. I was zoning in and out so it was hard to keep my focus. Once he got to me, he lifted me up. He was on his knees, one hand was keeping my head up so I could look at him and his other hand was brushing the hair out of my face. He was close to tears, I could see it.

"I'm so sorry I let this happen. I should've made you stay back."

"No, it's not your fault. I ran in when I shouldn't have. I'm sorry. I just wanted to try to help you."

"Believe it or not, you did help. When you yelled my name, it was like I got my second wind. Thank you. I love you Scout."

"I love you too, Bobby." My voice was almost gone, it was so quiet.

I was dozing off and he could tell. He started shaking me, trying to keep me awake. I heard him begging me to stay with him and as much as I wanted to do as he says, I couldn't. I let the darkness take over me in a peaceful rest.

When I woke up, I was being carried in someone's arms. They were strong yet gentle. I didn't dare open my eyes but I couldn't help but mumble, "Bobby?"

He was the first thing that came to mind. He was the last person I saw before I passed out. I heard the person chuckle as they got me into a more comfortable position. "Sorry, Angel. Close but no. How are ya feeling?"

"Sore. Tired. Hungry. Did I mention sore?"

Scott laughed again as I could almost feel him shaking his head. "Yeah, you're definitely Logan's daughter, alright."

"Where's my dad? Is he ok?"

"They're on the jet, being taken care of right now. Everyone is. Logan nearly killed us all when he saw you weren't there. He's ok though."

"What about Bobby? What happened?"

"He's fine. Just a little shaken up but I think that'll change when he sees you. You scared him to death. You scared all of us, actually." Both of our voices were getting more into whispers as he realized I was dozing off again.

"How is everybody? Are they ok?"

"Yea, they're ok."

"What about you? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, don't worry."

"…Am I ok?"

"…You're gonna be just fine. Right now all you need is some rest. The next time you wake up, you'll feel better and we'll all be back home, safe and sound."

"Ya promise?"

"Yeah, I promise." And that was the last thing I heard before I dozed off.

When I woke up, I was in a bed in a dark room. I had a major headache and the smell of a cigar didn't help. I knew someone else was in the room and when I turned to look; all I saw was the glow of burning embers in the dark shadows. I didn't have to ask who it was but I still did. "Daddy?"

He sat up and walked over to my bed while putting out his cigar. He sat on the edge of my bed, next to me and even though I couldn't see his face, I could tell he hasn't slept in a good while. He didn't answer me but all he did was help me sit up and pulled me into a gentle hug. "How are ya feeling, Kid?"

"I'm ok. My head just hurts a little."

I could just see that smirk on his face. "Yea, well, that might be because you hit your head pretty hard."

"No shit. How long have I been out?"

"About a day or two."

"Are we back home?"

"…Yeah, we're back home."

"Can I go downstairs?"

He thinks about it for a minute until he picks me up in his arms and walks downstairs. When we get to the living room, there was nobody there except Scott. My dad walks over there and I could tell he has a plan up his sleeve. "Hey, Summers. I got a present for ya. Catch!"

He turned to look at him, annoyed until he saw me flying in the air, landing on top of him. He gives me a smile and pulls me in for a hug. "Thanks, Logan. I think I actually like this present. I don't think I'll be returning it back any time soon."

"Yeah, just keep a lid on it, Scooter." And with that, he walked out.

"I'm real sorry about Jean, Scott."

"Ah, it's ok. Maybe I'll find someone special later in life. Speaking of which, don't you have to go find _your_ special someone?"

I smile and jump up from the couch. "Thanks Scott!"

I ran out of the room, searching for Bobby. I was running around in the hallways and when I almost ran into Storm, she yelled at me to slow down as I kept running, not stopping. Just as I was about to turn a corner, I run into something hard and we both land on the floor.

I look up to apologize when I'm met with the ice blue eyes that stuck by my side throughout everything since I got to this school. "Bobby! Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. Are you ok?"

"Scout? No, its ok, I'm fine. How are you feeling?"

"I'm ok. It's over. The war is over!"

He smiles and helps me to my feet. "Yeah, I guess it is. It's gonna be really different now, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I think so." I look over his shoulder and see my dad standing outside, leaning on the rail, by himself. "Bobby, is it ok if I…"

He turned around and immediately knew what I was asking. "Of course. He is your dad. You don't have to ask."

"Thank you." I reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek as I walked over to my dad. "Hey, what are doing out here by yourself?"

He turns to me and gives me a small smile. "Hey Kid. I'm just thinking. I got some left over business I gotta take care of up in Canada…"

"You're leaving again, aren't you?"

"Yeah, sorry, Kid. It's just something I have to do. I promise I won't be gone as long as I was last time."

"Ok. I understand. I don't like it but I can deal with it. I still got everyone here to help me out."

"Ya sure? I can stay here for a while longer if ya want. I won't mind."

"No, no, it's ok. I'll be fine."

My dad gets the famous Howlett smirk on his face. "Ya promise?"

I look at him, with a similar smirk. "Yeah, I promise."

"Good. I don't wanna come back here and find out something happened."

"Well, don't worry. Everything is going to go smoothly."

"I know. I trust you to take care of yourself while I'm gone."

"I will. Besides, I'm the Renegade. My father is the Wolverine. I think I got a few things up my sleeve."

He just laughs and threw his arm over my shoulder, enjoying our time together.


	17. Traveling

It has been a few months since my dad has been gone. I know he said he would be back sooner but I wasn't gonna stay put and do nothing. I was up in my room, packing a few bags for my new trip. Alone. I was almost done with packing when someone's arms grabbed my hands and stopped me. When I looked up, I was met with a pair of ice blue eyes swimming in tears.

"Please tell me you're not leaving."

"Bobby, I have to. I'm sorry but you can't stop me. Neither can any of the others. It's something I have to do."

"But I thought you loved it here."

"I do love it here. This place is my home. Just…think of it as _my_ mission for a while. It's gonna last longer than any of the ones we had in the past but I'll come back. I promise."

He looks at me uncertainly, slightly shaking his head. "You better damn well promise that! You better give us a call every once in a while, got it? If not, we're gonna come and look for ya."

"Ok, I got it. I'm not leaving forever. I'm coming back. You know that, don't ya?" All I got for an answer was him staring at me with more tears in his eyes. "Oh, Bobby. Don't worry. You know me; I can take care of myself for a few months. Besides, I'll be looking for my dad. Once I find him, you know I'll be safe."

"I know. Did you already say something to Storm and Scott?"

"Yeah, Storm didn't want me to go but Scott was a little ok with it. As long as I do what he says."

"Oh no. What did he tell you to do?"

"He gave me a tracking device and if I ever needed help or wanted to talk to someone from home, then I call you guys. He even gave me my own phone, while I'm out in the woods."

"Good. I'm game with that."

While we talked, he let me go so I could finish packing. When we were both done talking, I was done packing. We stared at each other for a while until I made my move to leave. He walked me downstairs and I saw Storm and Scott waiting by the door. I walked up to them and I first hugged Storm. She wrapped her arms around me tightly. "You be careful out there, ya hear?"

I nod my head as I move over to Scott. He pulled me in, gently. "Take care of yourself, Angel. And remember what I told you."

I smile as I turn to the last person. Bobby hugged me the moment I looked at him. "Remember to stay safe. Do anything you have to do to come back home."

"Got it." We both pull away and stare in each other's eyes. "Don't worry. I'll be ok. I promise."

Bobby shakes his head and the next thing I know, he has tears streaming down his face, yanking me back in, pulling me close to his body. "I love you, Scout. Come back here as soon as ya can."

"I love you too, Bobby. Don't worry; I can't stay away from this place for long. It's my home."

I was ready to walk out the door when I was pulled back. I turn around expecting to see Bobby, but instead facing Scott. He fished something out of his pocket and tossed it over to me. I caught it and when I saw what it was, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. "You actually trust me with your bike?"

"Yeah, besides you're gonna need some way to get your trip started. Why not start it with a motorcycle. And plus, your old enough to drive, I think you can ride a bike. And I also trust you way more than I trust Logan."

"Thank you." I walk out the door and into the garage. I stand in front of Scott's motorcycle. I couldn't help but put the famous Howlett smirk on my face as I sat down and started it. "Oh yeah. Now I see why dad took it the first time he left."

The garage opens and I zoom out. I knew I was soon far away from the mansion, from my home. I knew I was going out to find my dad but it still hurt to know I was leaving some people behind. The worst of it all was knowing that I was leaving part of my _family_ behind.

Before I knew it, it has already been two months since I left. I call home at the end of every week. I asked them if they wanted me to call less frequently but they said if anything, they would want me to call even more. The farther I traveled away from home, the closer I felt to my dad. It was weird, knowing you were going farther from something you care about every day and at the same time; you're getting closer to something else you care about.

I haven't eaten since about yesterday morning and now it was the next day evening. I decided to go to an old bar and get something for dinner. I made sure I had a heavy coat on and the hood up, so nobody questioned my age or my appearance. I sat on a stool and ordered my dinner.

The way everything looked and how everybody was, I felt like it was back when it was just me and dad. Just the two of us, going from town to town. It just felt empty without him by my side. Hell, it felt wrong having no one by my side. I was sipping from my bottle of Coke when I felt someone come in.

There was one guy that had everyone in the bar interested by him telling a stupid story of how he escaped from being attacked from a bear tonight and he was the only one who survived. I didn't look who came in but I froze and nearly choked on my drink when I heard their voice. "You're the one who was attacked by the grizzly?"

His voice was the same, of course. It still held the same gruff appearance to make anyone afraid of him. But it held something else too. Like he felt he didn't have anything in the world anymore. The sound in his voice was as if he didn't give a care in the world and he wouldn't care if he died on the spot.

The man, who was talking, turned to the person who walked in. "I'm the one that survived."

I felt my dad walk closer to the counter, where I was. I was trying my best to act normal but I couldn't drink or eat anymore. I made sure I kept my hood up and my head down. I knew he was looking at me, questioningly but ignored it. "I'd like to buy this man a drink."

"What's your name, mister?"

I didn't hear a response but I heard my dad pull something out and stab the man with it. I did a quick look and turned around. I saw he put an arrow through his hand. "Name's Logan. Now that's a poison broad head, which last I heard was illegal."

I heard some scraping of chairs and a man came flying my way. I didn't turn around but I did flinch, hearing the sound his body made with the wood. I heard my dad start talking again. "Go ahead; ask me where I found it." When the man didn't answer, I heard liquid dropping on the floor and him trying to hold back a scream. I knew my dad was egging him on. "Ask me."

"Where did you find it?"

"Well, funny you should ask." I tried to contain my laugh but ended up making a small snorting noise. "I pulled it out of a back of a grizzly. Whoever shot him didn't wind or have the balls to track the animal properly and put it out of its misery."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Good, then we have nothing to worry about." I hear the sound of a glass breaking and when I looked I saw the man smashed a wine bottle over my dad's head. My eyes widen and knew I had to say something but my voice wouldn't work. My dad pulled a piece of glass out of his face and threw it on the ground. "That hurt."

I heard him get out his claws and before I could stop myself, I hear my voice call out, "Dad, don't do it! Let it go!"

I keep my head down and hear him come to my side. He yanks my hood off and stares at me, looking shocked. A Chinese girl comes up to us and grabs my dad's arm. "I wouldn't bother with them. Most of them would die soon anyway, without your help. Give them a week from now; they will die in a truck."

We both just stared at her, confused. The man with the arrow in his hand ripped it out and threw it at us. We ducked and the Chinese girl quickly kicked him and sent him flying to the floor. Another man pulled a gun but before anyone could react, she took out a sword and destroyed the gun then sliced a chair. The moment she put the sword away, the chair fell down, with the man sitting in it following.

She turns to us and walks out the door. "I'm parked in the back."

We follow her outside and before we could get on my bike, my dad yanked me off to the side. He pushed me against the wall and leaned on the opposite side, facing me with his arms crossed. "What the hell were you thinking, huh?! Did you even _think_ about listening to me?! Didn't I tell you to stay home and take care of yourself? Instead you pull a stupid stunt like this! What if someone found you? What if _Victor_ found you?! You could've been killed!"

"No, I promised I would be fine! You told me to take care of myself while you're gone and I have! Believe it or not, I don't really appreciate it when my dad goes running off around all the time, trying to find answers, leaving me behind! As much as I love everyone at the mansion, they're not you! I need my dad with me but I can't when he always makes me stay at home while he goes off!"

"Listen to me very carefully. I told you to stay home and take care of yourself. If someone found you, they could've taken you. They could've hurt you. They could've _killed_ you. I wouldn't be able to ever forgive myself if anything happened to ya. You're all I got, Kid. If I lost ya, I wouldn't know what I'd do."

I stare at my dad for a moment as he does the same. Out of nowhere, he pulls me to his chest, hugging me tightly. The red in my eyes have gone but now they were replaced by blue, orange, and a small bit of purple. I feel the tears in my eyes but I try to hold them back. I felt something wet on my head and when I look up, I saw my dad had tears in his eyes.

I let out a small sob and he hugs me tighter. "When I called the mansion and asked to talk to ya, they said you were gone. Said you came lookin for me. You got no idea how much that scared me. Please don't ever do that again. If you want to do anything like that again…just wait until I come back and we can take a trip or something if ya want. Don't go off on your own."

"I didn't. Scott made sure. He made me take a tracking device and a phone so I can call them at the end of every week. If anything did happen to me, I would fight my way out. Remember, I'm the Renegade and my dad is the Wolverine. I think I picked up a few things."

He chuckled as we both slowly pulled away. We walk out and go to our cars. The Chinese girl and my dad hop in a car while I get on my motorcycle. My dad turned around to face me but I motioned him forward, telling him I'll follow. He nods and starts up the car and we all head out.


	18. The Arrival

It was dark and rainy while we drove. I followed them for a few hours until we got to the airport. It was early in the morning when we arrived. I learned the girl's name was Yukio and she was leading us to the plane that would take us to Japan. "15 hours…depending on the wind."

"15 hours?"

I chuckle as my dad gets upset about this news. He just nudges me with his shoulder, making me laugh harder. Yukio turns back to us. "You don't like to fly?"

"I love it." I shook my head as he replied sarcastically.

It was dark outside now, and so far the ride was very rough. The plane would jolt every few minutes but the ride was silent. I was curled up in a chair and when I opened my eyes, I saw my dad was having a hard time. "You doing ok?"

His head snaps in my direction but relaxes when he sees it's me. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Go on back to sleep."

I didn't believe him but did what I was told. I closed my eyes and after a few minutes I heard Yukio speak. "We are almost there."

"So you can see the future?"

"I can read a map."

"You said you knew the future of those assholes at the bar."

"I know they are going to die. We are all going to die."

"You said they would die in the same truck in the same week. If your right, that's quite a talent."

"We don't all have claws."

The aircraft shook again and I hear my dad sigh. "So do I die on this plane?"

"No. Not on this plane."

The rest of the ride was silent. The plane went on for at least another hour or two until we finally landed. We took a cab or taxi to the place we were going. They both filled me in. Yukio's master Yashida wanted to see my dad before he died and thank him for saving his life all those years ago. We arrived at the house around midnight.

Yukio goes some place to change while we wait in a hall. I was admiring a Japanese tree and dad was sitting on a bench. When I looked up, I saw him looking through a book. "Really? Going through someone's stuff?"

He just looks at me, knowing I was just as curious on who this man was. We hear banging and yelling behind us and when we turn around, we see two people fighting with bamboo sticks or something. I felt someone's presence and when I looked behind me, I saw Yukio waiting for us in a nice dress. I tugged on my dad's sleeve and he looked as well. "This way."

She led us through many doors and hallways until we got to the final one. We open the door and see a very young girl with an old man. "That's Mariko. His granddaughter."

She walks toward where we were and looks surprised to see us. She stares at my dad until passing us. Yukio follows her and they start talking. We watch them, confused when they turn to us and stare. Yukio leads us to different room. I open a door and find a hot tub. I turn to her and find her smiling. "You do want to clean up and refresh yourself, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you very much, Yukio."

"You are very welcome."

After she leaves, I take my own sweet time. When I look for clothes, I only find the clothes the Japanese where and none of the kind of clothes I wear. I pick a cute blue one that looks like a pair of ice blue eyes I haven't seen in a long time. I walk out in the hallway and see her waiting for me. She smiles wide and hugs me, gently. "You look beautiful, Scout. Like a true Japanese girl."

She leads me down another hall and we stop at a door. I was confused at first but when my dad came out, looking nice and clean, I understood. Yukio gets the same smile when she sees him and I can tell he was in a pissed off mood. "What?" He didn't get an answer and all he got back was another smile, "What?"

"You look nice."

"I feel violated."

I try my hardest to not laugh but when he sees the look on my face, he rolls his eyes. "Go ahead, Kid." The moment he gave me permission, I laughed so hard, I almost fell to my knees. I knew dad smirked a bit, hearing my laugh. I almost couldn't breathe when he threw me over his shoulder.

He put me down when we got close to the door. Before we entered, Yukio turned to us. "Logan, Scout will have to stay out here."

"What? No, she's coming in with me."

"I'm sorry but Mr. Yashida wanted to talk to you. Nobody else."

"Well, he's not going to talk to me unless my daughter comes in with me. I don't care how safe and high security this place is."

She knew he wasn't gonna take no for an answer so she allowed us in. Yukio talks to Yashida in Japanese and we walk in his line of sight. He looks at dad with an amazed look. "You look the same. But then, that is no surprise." He turns to the nurse with long blonde hair and an evil look in her eye. "Doctor Green. Leave us please."

She looks at us for a moment until walking out of the room. Yashida stares at my dad and then me. "Who is that?"

Dad turns to me and wraps his arms around my shoulders, protectively before answering. "This is my daughter, Scout."

"Ah. Very nice to meet you, Scout."

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Yashida."

I turn around, not knowing what else to say. I look and see many different machines showing his heart and lung. In front of us was an old picture. "That painting is from the village of my birth. It picks the courage and bravery of the Black Clan. Ninja warriors. It has been in my family for seven centuries. I didn't send for you only to thank you, Logan. I wanted to repay you. To offer you something no one else can. A gift to the life you saved for me."

"I don't need anything. I have everything I want." Dad pulls me closer to him, his voice sounding dark.

"Not nothing. Eternity can be a curse. It hasn't been easy for you, living without time. To lose everything and to have to suffer. A man can run out of things to live for. Lose his purpose. I can end your eternity. Make you mortal."

"What they did to me, what I am, can't be undone. I haven't lost everything. I still have a home, my daughter, some…friends." I knew he was talking about the mansion and everyone there. The reason why he paused was because he was thinking of Scott which made me smile a little, knowing they hate each other with a passion.

"The Yashida industries can do it. We have reason to believe that your ability to heal can be passed."

"Passed?"

"From you to another. You have struggled long enough Logan."

I clutch onto my father's waist, my eyes turning white. He looks down at me and sees the emotion I have at that moment. "Alright, I'm confused. I came here to say goodbye to a man I once knew."

"I am the same man. I was not ready to die then. I'm not ready to die now. But you are…aren't you?"

"Daddy!"My voice cracked in a whisper.

He knew I was scared and motioned Yukio to take me out of the room. Before I left, I heard him in his menacing voice. "Are you offering to kill me?"

I wait in the hallway, leaning against the wall. After a few moments, I heard them walking my way. I look up and see them pass me, my dad gesturing me to follow. We walked outside and heard people yelling. We looked across from us and see Mariko and her father Shingen fighting. That was until her father slapped her and walked away.

Dad took a step forward, in a protective mode. Mariko looks at us then runs away. I look to where she was going and saw she was heading for a cliff. She gets to the edge and gets ready to jump when I put up a force field in front of her and my dad grabs her, guiding her away from it. She struggled to get out of his grip and when he released her, she glared at him and walked back inside.

Yukio went to talk to dad while I got ready for bed. I was asleep after a few minutes, with everything that went on today. Just when I was falling asleep, it seemed like the rain storm was only going to get worse. I couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with Storm back home.

I was in a peaceful sleep when I felt someone in my room. I froze when they walked closer to me and sat on the edge of my bed. I peeked open my eyes and relaxed when I saw the familiar features. "Dad? Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's fine. I just wanted to come check on ya to make sure you were doing ok. I heard that Yashida guy just died though."

I nod my head, feeling sorry that he died. I looked in my dad's eyes and could tell something was bothering him. "You had nightmares again, didn't you?" When I didn't get a response I asked another question. "How bad were they?"

"Kinda bad but don't worry. Everything's ok. Just had to set a little bit of ease to my nerves, seeing if you were alright. Go on back to sleep, Kid."

I smiled, hearing my nickname. He said the same thing to me on the plane so I knew there was something wrong but I didn't push it. I lay back in bed while dad tucked me in. He kissed me on the forehead and walked out. Before he closed the slider door, he turned to me with a soft expression. "Night, Kid. Love ya."

"Night dad. Love you too." And I drifted off to another dreamless sleep.


	19. The Funeral Disaster

The next morning, we all got dressed up and headed out. We met with Yukio in front of the building. She gave us a small smile and gentle hug. "Thank you for coming Logan, Sukauto."

I return the hug, unlike my dad who didn't know what to do. "What does that mean?"

"It means Scout in Japanese. I can call you that, right?"

I smile back and nod my head. "Yeah. I have a lot of nicknames and I really like this one. I would like it if you called me that in Japanese. It would be cool if you taught me a few things."

She gives me a big smile, looking excited. She leads us to the car and have the two of us follow her. Dad leans down to my level and whispers, "You know we're not gonna stay for long. We can't, this isn't a place for us. So don't get your hopes up, Kid."

I knew that. I wanted to leave but yet I didn't. It was nice to know more about Yukio and for her to teach me new stuff. I kinda want to learn more about Mariko too. Everything here interests me, especially when we have nothing like any of this stuff here back in the U.S., none the less the mansion. We got in the car and rode to the funeral, silently.

Once we arrived, we got out and let Yukio lead the way. We enter the building and see some people playing some kind of drums. As we walked back outside where the funeral was, Yukio was telling us who the man was next to Mariko and it turned out that was her fiancé. Before we continued to walk she ordered, "You need to bow."

I did what I was told unlike my father who stared at Shingen for a moment until bowing. Yukio started to introduce us when he cut her off. "I know who he is."

"Your father was a good man."

The man stared at my father with an amused expression. "He would often say the same thing about you. But then, he was always fascinated with your kind. Tell me, why do you think he send Yukio to find you?"

"To say goodbye."

"And now you have. Time for you to go back to your woods along with your child."

They glared at each other until Yukio leads us away. We join the group of people, behind everyone. She was explaining Samurai armor body suit while people were walking down the aisle and bowing to the grave. I felt many different presences around us that were all of a sudden. "Dad! There's people who aren't supposed to be here!"

He looks at me and sees my white eyes. He starts to look around and spots something that's not right. While Mariko starts to walk up the aisle, dad runs in the middle of it and stops her. He stares at one of the men working for the funeral.

The man pulls out a gun and shoots him in the stomach. Many people pull out guns and fire away at all kinds of different direction. I look for my dad and find him having trouble to focus and was actually in pain. I run towards him, leaving Yukio behind me while calling my dad's name. I see people taking Mariko away and try to decide if I should follow them or try to help my dad.

I knew something was wrong immediately, knowing if he had his full healing ability, he would have been up and running after a second. He stayed down, trying to catch his breath for a few minutes instead. When I saw him try to get back up, I knew he would be fine so I ran after Mariko.

People were dragging her behind them while shooting whoever got in their way. I took a shortcut and jumped in front of them. They started shooting the moment they saw me and I put up my force field. But the first bullets that came were too fast and got me in my shoulder and my leg. I cry out in pain and try to hold up a force field longer, trying to give my dad some time to get to us.

Finally he get to us and kills the men but I see him get shot once more. Once he was done, he turns to us and tries to hold back a yell from the pain. I knew I was bleeding badly but I tried my best to ignore the pain like I usually did in the past, before we met everybody from the mansion.

Mariko stares at my father as he struggles to keep his balance. "You're hurting."

He runs over to us and helps me stand. "Let's go! Come on, let's go!"

We make a run for the cars but some other men stops us. We grab Mariko and one shoots dad again. Another one pulls a knife on me and tries to stab me but I jump out of the way, go behind him and kick him between the legs, making him drop. I look around and see my dad crouching on the ground, covering himself with his claws instead of using them.

I see Mariko running away and I call for my dad to follow. He hear him run after us, calling both our names. We made it to the town with multiple men still following us. One of them was shooting at us until he was hit by a car. Dad dragged us through a lottery building and one man followed us. The three of us quickly got into a storage room and closing the door.

He stabbed the man through the door and we run outside again. We got to a train station and started walking around, looking for a cab or taxi. Dad stopped and tried to catch his breath, hunching over. Mariko continued on, saying she was fine and she could make it back home from here. I turn back to my father who was bleeding and was having trouble breathing. He saw the scared look in my eyes and shook his head, telling me to ignore it.

I didn't believe him but I wasn't going to make him mad. We followed Mariko and saw she was going to get on a train. We sat behind her diagonally and stayed silent until dad made his chair lean back. "Whoa! Oh that's nice."

I laughed at that, knowing he hadn't been in a reclined seat in probably many years. He looked over to Mariko and found her looking upset. "This is one of those bullet trains, right?"

"I told you I don't need your help."

"They do like what, three hundred miles an hour?" he continued as if she didn't say anything. I nudge him with my elbow and he looks over to me with an expression that says, _'I'm just curious.'_

Mariko just rolls her eyes, knowing we'll follow her. It was silent until dad spoke up. "So, where we headed?" She doesn't answer so he gets impatient as always. "Where are we goin?"

"I'm going to the end of the line. My family has a home in the south."

"That's stupid. No offense but they're gonna know to look for ya there!"

"Not this place."

He started lecturing her on how it's not safe and how she has to be careful. I could tell by the tone of his voice and what he was telling her, he cared for her. After she plugged her headphones in to ignore him, he removed his jacket and all I saw was his shirt covered in blood. I couldn't help but let out a gasp, covering my mouth, knowing this wasn't right.

Dad quickly looks over to me. "Hey, don't worry, Kid. I'll be fine. Get some rest, we have a long ride and your gonna need your strength." I was about to object but he quickly put his hand over my mouth. "Scout, listen to me, damn it. Do what I said."

I knew he was serious when he called by my name and swore at me. Sure I heard him use many other _colorful_ words and all but they were never toward me. He gets up and walks toward the back of the train, leaving me with an empty seat next to me. I get up and sit next to Mariko instead. She look surprised to see me there but accepts it.

It was silent between us. She was listening to her music while I was lost in my thoughts. I realized I had to call home. They knew I called at the end of every week and I was four days over my limit. I knew they were most likely freaking out and I was gonna get hell for it when I did call so I decided to get out my phone.

It seemed like everyone on the train was in their own world so I thought it would be ok just to talk there. I dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up. Somebody picked up at the first ring. The moment they answered, I heard their voice sounding desperate and demanding. I knew I was in for it…big time.

"_Hello?"_

"Scott? Hey, it's me. How are ya guy's doin?"

I hear him sigh on the other line but then I heard him nearly growl on the phone. _"God damn it Angle! You nearly gave everyone a heart attack! If we didn't get a call from you in another day, we would've gone out to find ya! What the hell is the matter with ya, huh?!"_

I flinch at his harsh voice and words but tried to keep my voice calm. "I'm sorry. I just got caught up in everything that has happened over the past few days. Just…something have been really complicated and hard, ok?"

_"…Where are you?"_

His voice sounded soft, as if he knew I was scared of the adventure I'm in for. I knew he wouldn't like my answer but I had to give it to him otherwise, it would just end badly. "…Japan…"

_"Japan!? What are you doing there? Did you find Logan at least?"_

"Yeah, I found him about two or three days ago. We just ran into some people that wanted to see him and I came with. I might be back around another month or so but other than that, I'm ok."

_"Take care of yourself and stay strong, alright? I don't wanna find out you got yourself injured or killed before you can come back."_

"…Yeah, funny thing about that whole 'injured' part. We got attacked earlier today and I might've gotten shot…twice. Once in the leg and another in the shoulder. I'm waiting until we find someplace where we'll be safe so then I can take care of it."

_"You got shot!? Damn it Scout! You know you can be in serious trouble with a bullet wound? None the less two bullet wounds?!"_

"Scott, I'll be alright. Please, just—"

My phone gets ripped away from my hand and smashes into pieces on the ground. I look up and see my dad. Mariko and I both jump from fear, my hair turning white. "We gotta get outta here. Let's go!" He leads us out of the train station and we come up to find ourselves in another part of a different town.

We keep walking until dad makes us stop, spending the night at a hotel. I follow him in but Mariko hesitates. We walk in but before dad could ask for a room, Mariko speaks up. "This is a love hotel."

"A what?"

"A love hotel. For couples…you understand."

Dad tried to reason with the owner, saying we need two rooms but she wouldn't have it. Mariko tried to get her to understand and when they start going upstairs, I follow them. I hear the owner start yelling and Mariko looks at me with a sad expression. "She says there are no children aloud. She says you cannot be here. If you want to stay here then you will have to stay outside."

Before I could object, dad leans down and whispers in my ear. "Go outside and wait for us. I saw a ladder on the building before we came in. You can climb up and get to our room. Wait for me to call ya."

I step away with a small nod. I walk outside and lean against the wall. It starts raining and I throw me arms up in the air, pissed. I'm gonna give hell to Storm for this even if it's not her fault. I see some Japanese boys walking past me, saying things I didn't understand, laughing and pointing at me. When they saw my eyes turn red, they ran off, down the street, yelling.

I hear my name being called and I start climbing. It was a long way up and dad was waiting on the edge for me. I felt myself start to lose my grip on the bars but I try my best not to give in. As I got closer, dad saw me struggling. He told me to stay on a platform and wait for him. He started coming down and he threw me on his back, making sure I didn't fall.

The pain in my shoulder was excoriating now, especially having to climb a ladder that's a freaking mile long. We got up to the room and closed the window and door. Dad threw me on the bed with a smile on his face. I smiled too, remembering he would always do that when mom was alive and we had our house in the mountains.

He walked back to the window and started checking out the area. Mariko stares at him, untrustingly. "Where do you plan on sleeping?"

He looks back at her but looking at me for a second, knowing I knew the answer to that. "I don't."


	20. Wounds

That night, dad stayed outside, on the platform, watching the area, making sure nobody came for us during the night. It was around midnight and Mariko and I could sleep. Instead we talked. We were actually talking about dad.

"Aren't you worried something will happen? He needs his sleep just like everyone else."

"No, he's fine. At least, I think he is. He was hurt on the train but he went in the back and I think he cleaned his wounds. He really cares for you, ya know?" I bring that up, letting her know he got those wounds from trying to protecting her.

"He does? Are you ok with that? I mean, he is your father and all and you barely know me. I barely know you..."

"Well how about we tell each other something we didn't know before. Like you probably don't know my whole name. My name is Scout Howlett. My father is Logan James Howlett and my mother is Kayla Silverfox. She died…a very long time ago. It's just been me and dad for practically my whole entire life."

"I am very sorry about your mother. That must've been very hard for both of you. My name is Mariko Yashida but you probably knew that. My mother died when I was a young child so I never knew her. My father was not much of a father, it was always my grandfather who took care of me and taught me everything I know. I know what it's like to grow up without a mother, Scout."

"Yeah. It was pretty hard. Sometimes I still have nightmares about it. But it's in the past, can't change anything now."

"You're right. We can't do anything for the past but we can still do something for the present. So why don't I help you clean your wounds?" I looked at her shocked, not knowing how she knew about them. "I saw you bleed and have trouble moving around. You need help. Do you want me to get Logan?"

"No, no please. Don't bother him. You don't know what would happen if he found out. I just got hit twice. Once in the shoulder and once in the leg."

"Lie down. I will help you." I did as I was told and she gave me some sort of juice that made me sleepy. I was almost asleep when she was finished patching my shoulder. She was getting ready to patch up my leg but I heard her call out, "Logan!"

The last thing I knew was that my father passed out and was almost bleeding to death. I was woken up by being shaken. I opened my eyes to find Mariko looking down at me, looking happy. "Logan is ok. He is awake and wants to see you."

She leads me down all the way to the basement. When we open the door, she enters first and announces, "Logan. You have a visitor."

She moves out of my way and I could see him clearly. He was lying down on a table, dressed and breathing but looking weak. I scared me to see him like this, knowing this has never happened before. I limped over to his side and he reaches his hand out. I grab it with a small smile. "You ok, Daddy?"

"Yeah, I'm ok, sweetheart. Don't worry just a little sore is all. You wanna tell me why you're limpin when you walk?"

"I got shot twice during the fight at the funeral. Mariko patched up my shoulder already but my leg isn't fixed yet."

"You didn't tell me?! That was why you couldn't climb the ladder on the building?"

"You didn't tell me you were feeling weak or why you're not healing."

He sighs, knowing I was right. "That lady back at the house, Dr. Green. She did this to me. I don't know how but I remember Yashida told me something about passing my powers over to someone else. That same night, she did something to me."

Later on that day, we got on a bus. I was sitting in the back and Mariko and dad were sitting by the front. They were the only seats available. I start to doze off but I felt the bus stop and hear dad call out, "Let's go, Kid."

I follow them outside and look around the town. We went to get some food and arrived at the house. I was still limping, all the while dad glaring at me for not telling him and cleaning them sooner but it wasn't as bad as before. Mariko was cooking us dinner. I stayed silent during the whole meal while Mariko and dad got into an argument.

She was explaining why she ran out in the rain that one night and tried to jump off the cliff. It was because her grandfather gave her his whole company so she would be the most powerful person in Japan but she didn't want it. It was all her father ever dreamed of having but instead of him getting it, it was his daughter. Dad kept getting protective over it, especially about when her father hit Mariko.

After they stopped talking, I kept throwing glances towards my dad, knowing he cared for her, that he felt he had to protect her. From his actions, I knew he felt something towards her. I was almost ok with it. Mariko and I talked a bit and connected with each other. She understood what it was like with no mother and what it was like when you really didn't have anyone to talk to except the person who took care of you.

She was different from Jean. She actually took the time to try to get to know me and asked how I felt about her and dad. To be honest, I respected her for that. She was kind and gentle and caring. In some way, she reminded me of mom. Mariko is strong and tries to do things for herself but gives in when she knows she cannot win a fight and does everything she can to help other people. Just like my mother.

Early the next day, some woman came to the door asking for help. A tree fell in the middle of the road and said the men could use some extra hands. Dad was splitting the tree with a regular axe, looking like he did when he was at work in the mountains. I was playing with some of the children, chasing them around and climbing trees.

When I looked over, I saw dad smiling at me, looking happy that I'm enjoying myself and having fun. After about a half hour, I saw him and Mariko walk off in the distance. I let them go, letting them have their own time together. I saw some storm clouds rolling in so I headed back to the house. Mariko and dad got back not too long ago and I was taking a shower. When I came out, in the living room, I saw something that shocked me.

I saw Mariko and dad kissing. I stared for one second longer before heading to my room, quickly and quietly. I didn't mind them being together and all but couldn't they have done that while I wasn't in the house? It was going to get a lot of getting used to though, I will admit that.

Everyone was getting ready for bed. But not me, I stayed by the window and the doors. I knew we were most likely safe but you can never be too careful. Dad tried to put up a fight with me about it but in the end, surprisingly, I won. They were both asleep, side by side, his arm wrapped around her waist. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the 'couple'.

Even though it was late at night, I wanted to talk to someone but I didn't want to wake them up. Instead, I looked for phone and dialed the number I've been dialing for two months. They answered not long after the phone started ringing.

_"Hello?"_

"Storm? Is that you?"

_"Scout?! Yeah it's me. Hold on, I'll go get Scott and Bobby then I'll put you on speaker."_ I waited for a moment and in the background, I heard a lot of shuffling and yelling on the other end. _"Ok, you're on speaker, Baby Girl."_

"Scott? Bobby?! How are you guys?"

_"We're fine. You wanna tell me why you were cut off the last time you were on the phone, Angel?! And how's your shoulder and leg?"_

"Dad broke it. We were being followed and we needed to get out of that place as fast as we could. I'm fine. Mariko helped me with my shoulder. I cleaned and patched up my leg earlier today, when I woke up. I got a small limp now but other than that, I'm alright."

_"Wait a minute! What happened to you? Were you hurt?"_

I smiled at the voice of Bobby. "I got shot but nothing to worry about. I'm ok now so don't panic."

_"How are you holding up, Kitten?"_

"Honestly…I miss you guys and…and I wanna come home!"

I let out a small sob when I said the word 'home' as I felt my eyes turn blue along with my hair. _"Listen, Angel. Just tell us where you are now and we'll come and get ya. We'll be there as soon as we can!"_

"No, it's fine. I have to stay here with dad a bit longer. Something's not right. He's not healing like he used to. He passed out from blood loss and we had to get him to a doctor. That's never happened before. Yesterday night was the first time I've seen him weak and having trouble with moving."

_"Alright, but whenever you need us, you call, ya hear me? We'll be right here, Baby Girl."_

"Thanks guys." I felt my hair turn white with only blue streaks in it. "Guys I have to admit something. Something I've never admitted before but you've seen it….I'm scared." I whispered the last part as I let tears flow down my face.

_"Angel…listen to me. Everything's gonna be alright. I promise. A lot of things might be hard and difficult right now but you'll make it through. Just like you always do. You're strong; I've never seen you give up on something before. Soon you'll be back home, safe and sound."_

"You better keep that promise, Summers."

_"I plan on it, Howlett."_

We both laugh as do Storm and Bobby. I saw it was getting close to sunrise and knew we had to hang up. We said our goodbye's but very hesitantly. I slowly put the phone down, not wanting to stop talking. I knew I had to so I did and stood by the door. About an hour or two later, Mariko got up.

We both went outside to get a bucket of water and some new groceries. On our way out, we were going to cross the small bridge over the little stream when we stopped. There were many men surrounding us. I tried using my force field but since I never got any rest, I was tired and weak.

They took us, leading us away from the house. My hair stayed white and soon my eyes turned too. We started calling my dad, loudly. After a few times, we heard him call our names, letting us know he was on his way. I could feel him getting closer but the men kept dragging us farther and farther.


	21. Help

The men kept dragging us away while I could hear my father calling our names. We were on a pier, racing to a car by the water. We were right next to it when I heard dad call us, sounding close. We both turned around and saw him running toward us, not far behind.

The men shoved us in the car, Mariko, who was weaker, went in first. I on the other hand put up more of a fight. I tried to cause a distraction so dad could get to us. I was hitting the man who had the gun, which wasn't a very smart idea. He got tired of it so he ended up punching me in the face, causing me to fall and him throwing me in the car.

I knew dad was right there when the man, who hit me, went flying away from the car and dad stood right in front of the door. He tried to grab me and I tried to reach out for him but the person who was driving, sped away, making the door close. I looked behind me and saw dad running after the car, calling our names, leaving me to call out, "Daddy!" knowing he heard me.

The passenger leaned back to us and stuck a needle in the back of my neck. I felt dizzy in a second and I couldn't see straight. Everything was blurry and I could hear Mariko yelling at the men in the car in Japanese. Last thing I saw was them, sticking her with a needle too. Before I passed out, I felt my hair turn purple, hoping my dad would find us soon.

When I woke up, I realized we were back at the house where we met Mariko. They took us to a room and closed all the doors. I turned to face whoever was in there and saw it was Mariko's father. He simply looked at us and talked to her. He kept talking to her in Japanese and I didn't understand anything. When he pulled out a sword, I ran towards a door and opened it. There were men guarding it and they just closed it.

Mariko's father glared at me and continued to talk to his daughter. They started fighting and when he was about to hit her, Mariko grabbed his hand so he wouldn't touch her. She looked very brave but scared at the same time. He started to drag us towards the door when we were met with people who were dressed in black and pointed arrows at us.

Men grabbed us and led us outside. Mariko was fighting back along with me, punching anyone we could reach. Someone came out of the shadows and started talking with Mariko, making her stop and talk back, leaving me confused. He grabbed her hand and led her to the car.

We drove for a while, it was nearly midnight. I knew something was wrong and had to go back to that house. They wouldn't turn around so I did the only thing I thought I could do. I opened the door and jumped out. I heard Mariko yell my name but they didn't stop. They kept going until I couldn't see them anymore.

I walked the opposite way we were going, the way we came from. I headed back to the house and saw a car that wasn't there before. I heard yelling and crashing in a room so I ran towards it. I opened the door and found something that had me turn my eyes and hair dark blue.

I saw Yukio battling Mariko's father, keeping him away from my father. Dad was lying on a table, bleeding, trying to grab something that was in his heart. I saw him rip out a small electric bug thing out of his body and saw him having trouble breathing. I let out a loud sob, understanding what was happening. "Daddy!"

He turned to me and his eyes widened only a little as he tried to control his breathing. "Scout, get out of here! Now!"

That was the last thing he said before I saw him stop breathing completely, his eyes party still open. Mariko's father, Shingen threw Yukio on the floor and started walking towards my father. I immediately put up a force field around him, running at him. I jumped on his back as I heard Yukio call out, "Sukauto!"

Shingen quickly threw me on the ground and stabbed me in the shoulder with his sword. I let out a cry of pain. Yukio came and grabbed a sword. They both started battling again but soon, she was on the ground, knocked out. I ran to her, and jumped over her when Shingen launched his sword at us. I shut my eyes, and gripped onto Yukio's shoulder's waiting for it.

But it never came. When I looked up, I saw three claws holding the sword back. "Don't hit my friends. And nobody touches my daughter!" Dad threw him across the room and got up, stalking over to him. "Where's Mariko?!"

"She's gone! The Viper bitch took her! With my father's obsession of mutation, it's his mistake. Like you and those two girls! That ruined this house."

Dad and Shingen started swinging their own weapons at each other. They ended up going outside in the storm. I started to shake Yukio, trying to wake her. I continued to hear them yelling and metal clanging against metal. I wanted to be by my father's side so bad but I knew he had to do this alone. Yukio opened her eyes and looked around to find dad gone.

"You're father, where is he?"

"He's taking care of Shingen, don't worry."

She pulled me into a hug and whispered, "Thank goodness you're ok Sukauto. Anata wa shin no senshida. It means 'you are a true warrior."

"Thank you, Yukio. That means a lot coming from you."

I felt someone come in the room and when I turn around, I find my dad standing there with a small smile on his face. I run and jump in his arms, hugging him tightly as I cried. "Don't you ever do that again! I thought you were actually dead!"

"That's why I told you to leave the room, sweetheart." He turns to Yukio gives her a soft smile. "Told ya you were wrong. Here, let me look at ya." He examines her face, looking at the cut she had on her face the turning to me, looking at my shoulder.

Since we were already in a doctor's room, he grabs something and wraps my shoulder up. Yukio reassures him about her face. "It's nothing. I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Kay. Thank you. Both of you." He gets up, grabs a piece of paper and walks out of the room. I follow him and he steals a motorcycle. He starts it and turns to me, waiting for me to get on. I hopped on and we took off.

As we were driving, I felt like it was before everything happened and it was just the two of us. We drove up a mountain and stopped at the edge. We saw a small town below us with many lights and then a large building behind everything. We went down further into the town and stopped again. I leaned over and sensed something. "Dad, something's not right. There's a lot of people here. Somebody brought back up. They knew we were coming."

Someone comes in the middle of the road and glares at us. Dad carefully and slowly get off while whispering, "Go. Get inside the building, find Mariko and do everything you can to protect yourselves. Make sure you're not seen and be careful."

I nod my head as I get off and run in the woods, behind the houses. I heard lots of yelling but I never looked back. I kept running until I was inside. I saw many guards waiting by the door and I pretended to be a lost child. I started to 'cry' and walk past them. They looked worried but suspicious at the same time. They came over to me and followed me when I went back in the woods. The moment we were out of sight, I flew behind them, broke one of their necks and kicked the other in the hhmm hhmm's, letting them fall down and pass out.

I took one of their outfits and pretended to be a guard. I walked inside and started looking for Mariko. I kept my head down whenever I felt someone coming near. I got to the top and found her, looking down outside, staring at something. I quietly made my way next to her and saw what she was looking at.

There was dad, on his knees with many arrows in his back attached with strings, causing him to stop. Soon, he fell to the ground, passed out. I couldn't help but yell for my dad. Mariko looked at me, shocked to find me there. The guards came and tied me up, chains holding my hands behind my back. Viper came and leaned down to me. "You know, I should kill you now! But you're just another weakness to Wolverine so I have to keep you alive. For now. After that, you'll be nothing but a scared, worthless child with nothing."

After that, she left me alone in a corner to get my dad. Mariko was sent somewhere upstairs with the man that came for us at the house and took her here while I jumped out of the car. I knew that everything she said…was not true. I might've thought it was when I was stuck at 14 years old but now I know better. I know I have a family, a home, my father is proud of me, so is Storm, Scott, and Bobby. I would always have them for as long as I live.

They dragged dad up where I was but set him in a chair that was made out of the same thing that his bones were made of. Adamantium. He woke up and started looking around. His eyes met mine and they showed worry and a small bit of fear.

Viper came and talked to him, the same way she talked to me. I couldn't hear what they were saying but I saw dad get his claws out and then all of a sudden, a huge metal samurai started to move. He walked in front of my dad and got out his own sword. He raised his sword and it glowed red. He brought it down but at the last second, Mariko jumped in front of it, protecting dad and I put up a force field around them.

Instead of cutting off dad's claws, he broke the chair and dad was free. He quickly ran over to me and cut my chains. He pushed me towards the door. "Get Mariko and get out of here! This is gonna get a hell of a lot worse and you don't want to be here for that." I was about to object when he cut me off. "Listen, Kid. This is something I don't even know how to fight. And if I don't have any clue about it, then you sure as hell don't. Now go!"

I didn't want to but I grabbed Mariko and she followed me. Dad did to but only for a little bit. The metal Samurai followed us as well. He turned around and tackled the Samurai, both of them falling down. Mariko and I looked over the edge and saw him ok but the Samurai was getting ready again. He yelled for both of us to get out of here but we stayed.

The Samurai raised the sword and cut off dad's right hand claws. I yelled out, just as he did. He fell down the circle that went to the basement. I called out for him as the Samurai jumped down too, chasing after him. I started running down the stairs as fast as I could, following them. Seconds later, all the power went out.

I started walking carefully, not wanting to trip and fall or get hurt. I felt my eyes turn a new color. Green. Worried. I put up a force field around myself so nobody could sneak attack and hurt me. I kept going when I heard them falling down even further. I looked and saw they were at the very bottom and something smashed open the wall.

I was guessing dad was hanging onto something out there so I decided to move more quickly. I ended up running as fast as I could down there. I heard dad cry out in pain once more and when I looked, I saw the Samurai cut his other claws off. I tried to run faster, ignoring the sounds around me. I finally got there and saw that it wasn't just a robot.

It was Master Yashida who we all thought had died. He had dug something into dad's cut open claws and drilling into them. He was yelling out in pain but yelled for me when he saw I was running towards them. I was about to attack Yashida when he quickly turned around and threw me against the wall. I hit my head hard and was dizzy and everything was blurry when my body made a loud sound with the floor.

I saw Mariko coming behind him, making sure I was alright first. I lay there, unmoving for several moments, trying to regain my strength. I saw dad was getting pale and I was losing him. Mariko threw some on the cut off claws at Yashida and hit him in the head. He turned to her, shocked, letting go of dad. "Mariko, it is me. Your grandfather."

"I buried my grandfather."

Yukio came beside me and helped me up, being careful and gentle. Mariko stuck her grandfather in the throat with one of the claws. As he was dying, dad got back up and started ripping the metal apart. He might have lost his metal claws but he got back his bone claws. They came out and stabbed Yashida. He dragged him to the opening in the wall and threw him off the cliff.

Dad turned to us, breathing heavy, trying to keep his balance. "You alright?"

We didn't answer and he collapsed. He fell to the floor, unconscious. I was still injured but I ran toward him, calling for him, trying to wake him up. I started crying, thinking I lost my father for good. Mariko and Yukio came next to me, Mariko grabbing dad's arm, whispering his name. I now had blue and green eyes and hair when I felt myself dozing off.

I remembered the sword wound I took at the house, battling Mariko's father. The contact my head had with the wall and the floor made it all the worse. I was zoning in and out. All I could understand was Yukio noticed and tried to keep me awake while I was lying beside my almost dead father. In a few seconds, I was out.


	22. Home

I woke up in a white room, hooked up to many wires, my shoulder patched up and a bandage on my head. I opened my eyes and looked around. The room looked about the same as the one I woke up in the mansion for the first time. But it was different. I didn't have any doctor by me. Instead, when I looked to my side, I saw my father there. He was alive and breathing, looking the same as he did during my whole life.

He was sitting in a chair that was right next to my bed, asleep, looking peaceful, which was rare. But you had to really look at him to know he was crying. I saw the tearstains on his face. I raise my hand and gently shake his arm, whispering, "Dad." He slaps my hand away, turning away and groaning. I chuckle, knowing he's grumpy when anyone wakes him up from his sleep. I shake his arm again, this time harder.

He yanks his arm away and starts to wake up. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes and opens them. He looks around the room and when he turns to me, our eyes meet. He stares in my eyes for a moment before jumping out of his seat, sitting on the edge of my bed, and wrapping me up in his arms.

He slid an arm around the back of my neck and the other arm around my back, cradling me to his chest, hugging me tightly. He was holding me like he was scared to let me go, scared as if I would die if he didn't keep me close to him. I felt his body vibrating and it took me a minute to realize he was crying. He was trying to hold back the sobs, trying to stay strong but couldn't.

He started rocking me back and forth, brushing my hair back. He pulled away and wiped away the tears I didn't even know I had. I felt myself shaking and dad put his hands on my shoulders, looking me in the brown eyes that matched his. "Scout…Yo…I…."

I could tell he wanted to say something but didn't know what. So I comforted him, instead and wiped away _his_ tears. "It's ok, Daddy. We're both fine. We're alive. I'm ok now, so are you. We still have each other. Everything's gonna be fine."

I smile at him gently as he glares at me. He ends up nodding his head with a sigh. "Ya know…I think it's the father job to comfort his daughter…not the other way around." We both chuckle as he leans down and kisses me on the forehead, pulling me close to him again. "Thank God you're alright, sweetheart."

That day, all we did was relax and talk. We stayed in the room, not going anywhere, staying by each other's side. More like dad staying by my side since I wasn't allowed to move. We didn't really talk about much, just random stuff and telling the other memories. The next day though, I got up, got dressed and we headed out.

We arrived at an airport, in a black car with the sun shining in our faces. Dad had his arm around my shoulders, holding up his other hand to block out the sun in our eyes. We look ahead of us, in the middle of the airport, near our plane. Mariko and Yukio were hugging and talking in Japanese. We approached them and Yukio walked away towards the plane.

Mariko started fixing dad's jacket, looking sad. "Am I wrong to think you two would visit me soon?" Dad doesn't answer and leans down to kiss her. I just groan and make gagging noises, making them pull away and laugh. Mariko gets serious again, putting her head down. "Stay."

"I can't princess. I'm a soldier. And I've been hiding too long."

I turn to her and gently hug her. "Take care of yourself, Mariko. I'll miss you,"

"I'll miss you too, Scout. Make sure Logan stays out of trouble." We laugh at this, knowing that is impossible. We look over and see dad waiting by the plane next to Yukio. I give her a small nod and make my way towards them. We start to board on the plane when a sound stops us. We look up and see a jet coming and landing beside us.

It looked so familiar but I hadn't seen it in so long, I almost didn't recognize it. It landed near us and as the wind it made died down, we saw the ramp open up and a tall boy with short blonde hair and ice blue eyes comes running down, towards me. My eyes widen as I run towards him, yelling his name and tears in my eyes.

Bobby called out my name and we met in the middle, me jumping in his arms, him hugging me tightly to his chest. I tried not to cry as I hugged him back just as tightly. We slowly and hesitantly pulled away, staring in each other's eyes. We kissed but we were torn apart by someone grabbing my waist.

I turned around and was met with a pair of red glasses. He had this huge smile on his face, it was hard not to smile back and laugh. Scott pulled me close to him and brushed the hair out of my face so he could see my eyes. He smiled again and shook his head, chuckling and hugging me again.

For the second time, I was pulled back and to someone else. I looked up and there was Storm with tears in her eyes. She was sat there, stroking my hair, whispering soft things in my ear. We pulled away and I was smiling at all three of them. "How did you guys know how to find me?"

"I called them." I turn around to face my dad, who had a small smile on his face. "I thought it would be for the best."

"You mean you called them, for them to bring me home while you go back where we have no idea where you could be?! After everything has happened, I thought you could trust me on my own and come with you!"

"I trust ya. That's why I had them come to bring you back, Kid. Because of everything that has happened. We always think that we ended something but it ends up coming back. I need you to be safe and well protected."

"But I'll be safe and well protected with you!"

"No, you won't. We both know that, after what happened. Scout, you almost died just a few days ago and I couldn't do anything about it because I was too weak to do something. As much as I want to, I can't always be there to protect you."

"…It helps to think that you could."

Dad chuckles and pulls me close to him, resting his head on top of mine. "Promise me you're going to stay at the mansion, not go searching for anything unless it's for a mission. And that you're going to stay safe and be careful."

"I promise."

"Good girl. I love ya, Kid."

"I love you too, Daddy."

He squeezes my shoulders one last time before telling Scott to take good care of me. Scoot swings his arm over me and we go opposite directions, heading for our own jet. Half way to the jet, I felt the need to turn around so I stop and move my head so I can see out of the corner of my eye. The other's look at me questioningly, but I ignore them.

I look to find my father, farther away from me than I would've liked, turning his head at the same time. We stare at each other for a moment before dad gets the famous Howlett smirk on his face and winked at me. I continue to stare at him but then the similar smirk grows on my face and I do the same. We smile at each other, laughing lightly before turning back around and heading our own ways.

Scott slipped his arm around my shoulder again and Bobby grabbed a hold of my hand and we walked back to the jet to head back home. It might've hurt, knowing that dad was leaving again and I won't see or hear from him in a long time but I was ok with it.

I planned on keeping my promise to my father. I kept my head held high and eyes straight, trying to be strong like dad would have wanted me to. I felt my eyes turning blue but after a second, they turn purple. I was sad that we would be separated once again but then I remembered that we were going to reunite once more. Just like every time something happens and we're separated, we find one another again. Every time.


End file.
